Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) are used globally as a key component of clean and sustainable energy infrastructure and emerging LiB technologies have incorporated a class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known as bis-perfluoroalkyl sulfonimides (bis-FASIs). PFAS are recognized internationally as recalcitrant contaminants a subset of which are known to be mobile and toxic but little is known about environmental impacts of bis-FASIs released during LiB manufacture use and disposal. Here we demonstrate that environmental concentrations proximal to manufacturers ecotoxicity and treatability of bis-FASIs are comparable to PFAS such as perfluorooctanoic acid that are now prohibited and highly regulated worldwide and we confirm the clean energy sector as an unrecognized and potentially growing source of international PFAS release. Datasets herein include PFAS concentrations collected from multiple environmental matrices in various sampling locations as well as experimental testing with Daphnia magna (locomotion) and zebrafish (survival hatching development locomotion and mitochondrial function).
