Power play: A multi-criteria analysis of present and future battery technologies

Advancing electrification requires batteries that combine high performance with sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and supply-chain resilience.Post lithium-ion batteries (PLIBs) such as sodium-ion (SIB), lithium-sulfur (LSB), and solid-state batteries (SSB) are widely discussed as alternatives to today's lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), yet discussion of their technical and sustainability benefits and drawbacks remains fragmented.Here we present an integrated, multi-criteria assessment of twelve battery chemistries, combining cradle-to-gate life cycle, raw material criticality and material cost analyses with performance metrics, specific energy and energy density into a unified comparison.On average, PLIBs exhibit 114 % higher global warming potential and up to 461 % higher material costs than LIBs, particularly when lithium metal or specialty lithium chemicals are required.SIBs achieve 94 % lower criticality and slightly lower cost than LIBs, although their specific energy and energy density remain comparatively low.SSBs deliver the highest specific energy, outperforming LIBs, but depend on costly and less scalable materials.LSBs exploit abundant sulfur and offer high theoretical specific energy, but today's reliance on lithium foil and electrolyte-intensive designs lead to elevated cost, criticality, and carbon footprint.A sensitivity analysis demonstrates how improvements in specific energies enhance PLIB competitiveness.By linking sustainability, cost and criticality hotspots with performance, this study identifies targeted areas of improvement to guide next-generation battery development.