Quantifying the Carbon Footprint of Anaphite’s Dry Coating Process for NMC811 Battery Cells

As global demand for electric vehicles continues to grow, reducing the carbon footprint of battery manufacturing has become an essential part of achieving a low-carbon transport future. Electrode manufacturing, one of the most energy-intensive stages of cell production, presents both a major environmental challenge and a significant opportunity for innovation.

Anaphite, a UK-based battery technology company, has developed a novel dry coating process technology that eliminates the need for the energy-intensive drying stage used in conventional wet coating. To understand the true environmental benefits of this innovation, Anaphite commissioned Minviro in October 2024 to carry out an independent Carbon Footprint of a Product (CFP) study. The aim was to quantify the carbon savings of Anaphite’s process and ensure that results were scientifically robust, ISO-compliant, and suitable to inform future compliance with EU Battery Regulation requirements.

The Challenge

Quantifying the carbon footprint of advanced manufacturing processes requires large datasets, sound methodological choices, and transparency around uncertainty. Unlike financial accounting, CFP analysis involves inherent variability due to the wide range of data inputs, yet, when executed rigorously, it provides critical insights into where emissions reductions can be achieved.

For Anaphite, the goal was clear: to demonstrate, through independent life cycle assessment, that its dry coating process could deliver measurable carbon savings compared with conventional wet coating. Achieving this level of quantified evidence would allow both Anaphite and its industrial partners to benchmark performance, guide process development, and prepare for the incoming EU Battery Regulation, which will require verified carbon footprint declarations for all large batteries sold in Europe from 2027.

Minviro’s Role

To meet this objective, Minviro performed a comparative life cycle assessment of NMC811 battery cell production using two manufacturing routes: Anaphite’s dry coating process and the traditional wet coating process.

Foreground data were supplied by Anaphite’s engineering partner in 2025, based on simulations of a 25Ah 4680 cell configuration pairing an NMC811 cathode with a silicon–graphite composite anode (5 wt.% silicon). Background data were drawn from trusted life cycle inventory databases.

The analysis followed the ISO 14067 standard for product carbon footprinting and applied the IPCC 2021 GWP100 method for climate change impact assessment. It also followed the Environmental Footprint (EF) method, which underpins the EU Battery Regulation’s approach to carbon footprint quantification. The study underwent independent critical review by external experts with extensive experience in LCA and battery manufacturing, ensuring the highest level of methodological transparency and credibility.

“Collaborating with Anaphite on this study has been a great example of how rigorous, transparent assessment can translate innovative process design into quantifiable results. Our independent analysis identified a clear reduction in carbon footprint for Anaphite’s dry coating process compared with conventional wet coating, using ISO-aligned methods and critical review. Studies like this that follow the Environmental Footprint (EF) method provide essential environmental data for cell manufacturers, as this method forms the basis of the EU Battery Regulation carbon footprint quantification.”
Lydia Bridges, Senior Consultant, Minviro

Results

Minviro’s assessment found that Anaphite’s dry coating process reduces the carbon emissions of cell production by 70%. This equates to 3.57 kilograms of CO₂ equivalent per kilowatt hour of cell capacity compared with the conventional wet coating method. The reduction is primarily driven by the removal of the drying stage, a highly energy- and emissions-intensive step in traditional electrode manufacturing.

If implemented across global cell production, these process efficiencies could save around 7 million tonnes of CO₂ per year, increasing to 14 million tonnes per year by 2030 as demand grows. For a typical 75 kWh EV battery pack, this equates to approximately 268 kilograms of CO₂ saved per vehicle.

Binder flexibility within Anaphite’s dry coating process, including the potential to use PTFE and PVDF, offers additional opportunities to further reduce emissions depending on material selection and future process optimisation.

“Wet coating of electrodes is well proven, but manufacturers want it replaced by dry coating because of the carbon footprint improvements and cost reductions it delivers. Our unique dry coating process technology is the solution manufacturers need to make EVs more sustainable. We’re delighted to see its environmental benefits confirmed by Minviro’s independent assessment.”
Joe Stevenson, CEO, Anaphite

Why It Matters

For cell manufacturers and OEMs, these findings demonstrate how transparent, data-driven environmental assessment can support process improvement and regulatory readiness. The EU Battery Regulation will introduce mandatory Battery Passports from 2027, requiring ISO-compliant carbon footprint reporting for each battery model. Once performance thresholds are established, manufacturers will need to reduce emissions to meet them or risk restrictions on market access. Validated studies such as this ensure that progress toward lower-carbon production is based on credible evidence.

This project demonstrates how process innovation can directly contribute to lower-impact manufacturing without compromising performance or scalability. The study also reinforces the critical role of independent, ISO- and EF-aligned assessment in differentiating genuine environmental progress from unverified claims.

Towards a Lower-Carbon Battery Industry

The Carbon Footprint of a Product study confirms that Anaphite’s dry coating process delivers measurable and independently validated reductions in carbon emissions compared with conventional wet coating. By removing the drying stage, the most energy-intensive step in electrode manufacturing, and applying methods aligned with the Environmental Footprint (EF) methodology and ISO 14067 standard, Anaphite has proven they provide a credible and scalable pathway to decarbonising cell production.

Minviro is proud to have collaborated with Anaphite in this work, combining analytical rigour with transparent reporting to quantify the real-world impact of an important technological advance. Together, the two organisations have demonstrated how life cycle assessment can turn innovation into actionable evidence, supporting the transition to a lower-carbon future for battery manufacturing.