Economic impact of $1.6B from Electric Vehicle R&D Using Neutrons

A study by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) [1] recently calculated the economic impact of knowledge arising from research and development (R&D) using neutron beams and used to develop electric vehicles. Research using neutron beams in the U.S. and Canada has made many valuable contributions by conducting experiments in areas such as understanding the molecular structures of materials that are or could be used in batteries or car parts. This knowledge accelerated design efforts for higher-performing batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and for lighter-weight vehicle parts, both of which enable greater travel distance between charging, thus making EVs more practical and accelerating their adoption in North America. In turn, battery EVs eliminate gasoline costs and corresponding greenhouse gas emissions.

The RTI study calculated the present value of these benefits from 2017 to 2030 at $48 billion, based on consumer willingness to pay for battery EVs and sales data from North American manufacturers that use neutron beam research. Canada’s contributions to the scientific efforts to understand performance of battery materials date back the 1990s and 2000s when researchers such as Profs. Jeff Dahn (Dalhousie University) and Linda Nazar (University of Waterloo)—both leading international authorities on rechargeable lithium batteries—using the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre (CNBC) to make seminal discoveries for lithium battery materials. Some experiments at the CNBC were conducted directly by researchers from Moli Energy 1990, then a BC-based manufacturer of cell phone and laptop batteries, in collaboration with Dahn and other researchers such as Isobel Davidson (National Research Council). In later years, Dahn and Nazar relied more on access to newer and brighter or more specialized neutron beam capabilities in other countries to make discoveries and develop better materials for EV batteries.

Canadian research on light-weight vehicle parts dates back even further but was a major focus in the 2000s and 2010s, when stricter fuel efficiency and emissions regulations were implemented in Canada and around world. Advances in materials science and manufacturing technologies were crucial, and lightweighting was a significant focus of research by university materials engineers using the CNBC during this period, often in collaboration with manufacturers such as Ford, GM, and Nemak.

Neutron beams are uniquely suited to such research, and without the measurements conducted at North American neutron sources, the road to commercial EVs would have been longer. The RTI study calculated the portion of the $48 billion impact attributable to research relying on neutron facilities, assuming the research accelerated commercialization by only two years. The results place the impact of the U.S. neutron facilities at $20 billion (source: RTI). The present value of all U.S. investments in its three main neutron facilities over 70 years ($18 billion from 1960 to 2030) is expected to be regained from this one research area over just 13 years (2017 to 2030).

Similarly, Canada is receiving back from EV research 2 times its direct investments in neutron beam laboratories. The economic impact from battery EV adoption can be estimated at $4 billion when scaled for Canada’s economy and EV adoption rates, of which $1.6 billion can be attributed to research using neutrons. By comparison, the present value of Canada’s investments in neutron beam laboratories over 70 years is approximately $750 million. This cost estimate includes the direct cost of the neutron beam laboratory and the attributed portion of the operating cost of the neutron sources. These neutron sources, Canada’s NRU reactor and its predecessor, the NRX reactor, were multipurpose facilities primarily justified by their uses for isotope production and nuclear power development.

Today, the industry and governments are investing heavily to transition the Canadian auto sector to production of battery EVs, and gigafactories are being built in Canada by companies such as Volkswagen, Stellantis, Umicore and BASF. Much research in Canada is focused on improving battery cost and performance, which would further increase benefits from EV adoption.

Neutrons continue to be indispensable to the analysis of many EV battery materials. Researchers in battery materials across Canada still require access to leading international neutron sources for experiments that push scientific limits, such as direct observation of the lithium ions during charging and discharging of batteries.