The calculation spreadsheet in the supporting information of the original manuscript contained an error, which had minor implications on the calculated volumetric energy content of the discussed battery technologies. Therefore, minor corrections in the calculation spreadsheet and in the resulting values were made. The results of which slightly change the data used to calculate Figure 8b.

Research and development of advanced rechargeable battery technologies is dominated by application‐specific targets, which predominantly focus on cost and performance targets, including high gravimetric energy, volumetric energy, and related power densities, while ensuring a high safety and long lifetime. The need for high‐performance and low‐cost batteries is driven by the growing market of electromobility, in order to fulfill key requirements, such as a sufficient driving range and fast charging ability, for achieving broad consumer acceptance. Currently, the lithium ion battery (LIB) is one of the state‐of‐the‐art technologies able to meet most of these key requirements at a reasonable cost. In addition to performance and costs, the environmental impact, i.e., the sustainability of the battery and in particular of the battery cell over the whole life cycle—i.e., from raw material extraction and battery material production, to cell and battery pack production, battery utilization, and to possibilities for second life usage and recycling—does receive continuously increasing attention. Within this review, different approaches for the development of “greener” batteries are introduced with a view on the complete battery life cycle, while focusing on the LIB technology. Moreover, alternative battery technologies are critically evaluated regarding their sustainability aspects and competitiveness.

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) combining a Li metal anode with a transition metal (TM) cathode can achieve higher practical energy densities (Wh L−1) than Li/S or Li/O2 cells. Research for improving the electrochemical behavior of the Li metal anode by, for example, modifying the liquid electrolyte is often conducted in symmetrical Li/Li or Li/Cu cells. This study now demonstrates the influence of the TM cathode on the Li metal anode, thus full cell behavior is analyzed in a way not considered so far in research with LMBs. Therefore, the deposition/dissolution behavior of Li metal and the resulting morphology is investigated with three different cathode materials (LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4, LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2, and LiFePO4) by post mortem analysis with a scanning electron microscope. The observed large differences of the Li metal morphology are ascribed to the dissolution and crossover of TMs found deposited on Li metal and in the electrolyte by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, and total reflection X‐ray fluorescence analysis. To support this correlation, the TM dissolution is simulated by adding Mn salt to the electrolyte. This study offers new insights into the cross talk between the Li metal anodes and TM cathodes, which is essential, when investigating Li metal electrodes for LMB full cells.