Electric vehicle battery

For the starting, lighting and ignition system battery of an automobile, see Automotive battery.

Nissan Leaf cutaway showing part of the battery in 2009

An electric vehicle battery is a rechargeable battery used to power the electric motors of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) or hybrid electric vehicle (HEV).

They are typically lithium-ion batteries that are designed for high power-to-weight ratio and energy density. Compared to liquid fuels, most current battery technologies have much lower specific energy. This increases the weight of vehicles or reduces their range.

Li-NMC batteries using lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides are the most common in EV. The lithium iron phosphate battery (LFP) is on the rise, reaching 41 % global market share by capacity for BEVs in 2023.[1]: 85  LFP batteries are heavier but cheaper and more sustainable. At the same time, the first commercial passenger cars are using a sodium-ion battery (Na-ion) completely avoiding the need for critical minerals.[2]

The battery makes up a significant portion of the cost and environmental impact of an electric vehicle. Growth in the industry has generated interest in securing ethical battery supply chains, which presents many challenges and has become an important geopolitical issue. Reduction of use of mined cobalt, which is also required in fossil fuel refining, has been a major goal of research. A number of new chemistries compete to displace Li-NMC with (see solid-state battery) performance above 800Wh/kg in laboratory testing.

As of December 2019, despite more reliance on recycled materials the cost of electric vehicle batteries has fallen 87% since 2010 on a per kilowatt-hour basis.[3]

Demand for EVBs exceeded 750 GWh in 2023.[1] EVBs have much higher capacities than automotive batteries used for starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) in combustion cars. The average battery capacity of available EV models reached from 21 to 123 kWh in 2023 with an average of 80 kWh.[4][5]

  1. ^ a b "Global EV Outlook 2024". Paris: IEA. 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  2. ^ Johnson, Peter (5 January 2024). "BYD breaks ground on its first sodium-ion EV battery plant". Electrek.
  3. ^ "Battery prices are falling, which is good news for EVs". Marketplace. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Electric vehicle model statistics". EU European Alternative Fuels Observatory. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Useable battery capacity of full electric vehicles". EV Database. Retrieved 27 May 2024.