What You Should Know About Today’s Electrical Car Batteries
Most consumers regard batteries with a slight hint of contempt and mistrust. Who can blame them? Based on their practice with cellphones and laptops, batteries are needy snowflakes with fickle charging schedules, and get sucked dry at the least convenient moment.
But unlike their temperamental counterparts, electrified vehicle batteries are different. They’re designed to be more sturdy, as they carry a stronger stream and last much longer. Of course, they’re also a little more expensive than your average iPhone battery.
Still, costs for EV batteries have been falling quicker than most could have expected. In fact, EV battery costs declined by thirty five percent inbetween two thousand fourteen and 2015.
That’s the result of switches to cell chemistry, manufacturing processes and aggressive pricing by large manufacturers elbowing their way into the lucrative market. Things are getting competitive, and OPEC is feeling the fever.
They’re predicting there will be 1.7 million EVs on the road by 2020, while Bloomberg Fresh Energy Finance estimates it will be more like 7.Four million, with two million sold in two thousand twenty alone. Bloomberg also expects electrical cars to make up thirty five percent of light vehicle sales by 2040. Latest developments, such as rapidly decreasing EV battery costs, may give a slight edge to Bloomberg’s crystal ball.
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“Experts say EV battery costs could be under $100/kilowatt hour by 2020, and after that, go down to about $80/kilowatt hour.”
– John McElroy, Ward’s Auto
Reducing Battery Costs
It’s no secret that batteries represent a large chunk of EV switch, and are presumed to be one of the thicker stumbling blocks to EV ownership. Reducing this cost quickly & neatly trims EV cost. The battery cells used in the Chevy Bolt are now running at $145/kWh – should that drop to $100/kWh, the battery pack would cost $Four,000, significantly slashing the cost of a Bolt.
Of course, cell prices and battery pack prices are two different entities. A battery pack includes individual cells, supporting structure, a cell cooling system and a battery management system. The price of a Tesla battery pack? A cool $190/kWh. But as production ramps up in Tesla‘s Nevada gigafactory, that may switch.
The Tesla gigafactory in Nevada.
Should battery prices fall below $100/kWh, EV sales could skyrocket to one million vehicles a year, along with another million plug-in hybrids. And market share of vehicles with electrical motors could well surge from the current one percent to over ten percent in just a few brief years.
What about battery degradation?
But there’s more to the EV battery consideration than cost. Just how much bang do you get for your EV buck? PlugIn America surveyed Tesla Model S owners, covering five hundred nineteen vehicles that travelled 13,992,158 total miles – or an average of 17,523 miles per year (that’s actually more than the 13,476 average annual mileage calculated by the Federal Highway Administration).
It turns out that the Model S lost about five percent of its power in the very first 50,000 miles, at which point, battery degradation slowed. Some with 100,000 plus miles had battery degradation of less than eight percent. Elon Musk claims to have a Tesla battery pack with over 500,000 simulated miles still running at over eighty percent of its original capacity!
Reported battery capacity (by the vehicle) versus miles driven. Graph from PlugIn America survey linked above.
What factors affect EV battery life?
To understand what impacts a battery’s life, it’s significant to very first understand how it works. EV batteries are lithium based – when they are charged and discharged once, it’s called a cycle. A battery’s capacity will degrade as the cycle number increases. And battery life is measured in those cycles, with the industry standard of cycles close to eighty percent considered a benchmark.
So what shortens the life of a lithium battery? A number of factors:
- High temperatures
- Overcharging or high voltage
- Deep discharges or low voltage
- High discharges or charge current
When a lithium battery is charged, the voltage leisurely rises. When it reaches utter charge, voltage is at its highest and will not go up any more. There’s a need to keep voltage from getting excessive, which is why batteries come with a battery management system (BMS). These control the charging voltage so maximum charging voltage and temperature is never exceeded.
Automakers Backing Up EV Batteries with Warranty
At the end of the day, the question still stands – how reliable are EV batteries? Like many other commodities, the true test is the preparedness of the manufacturer to back up their product in writing – the warranty.
While EV manufacturers do provide warranties against excessive capacity loss, some warranties are better than others. BMW, Chevrolet, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Brainy and Volkswagen will warranty their batteries to various levels. On the other forearm, Fiat, Ford, Mitsubishi and Tesla specifically exclude capacity from their EV warranty, providing only for the actual failure of the battery – not any loss of capacity.
It’s interesting to note that Nissan originally figured the LEAF would retain eighty percent capacity after five years, and seventy percent after ten years. Some LEAF owners exceeded this estimate, while others fell brief. Now, Nissan offers a capacity warranty – should a LEAF lose four bars on its capacity gauge (this equates to about seventy percent capacity, but is not stipulated as such in the warranty) before sixty months or 60,000 miles, whichever comes very first, Nissan will repair or substitute the battery for free. For the two thousand sixteen LEAF, which came tooled with a thirty kWh battery, Nissan extended the warranty to ninety six months or 100,000 miles!
Here are some other examples of how manufacturers cover EV batteries:
- BMW i3 is covered for eight years or 100,000 miles, to seventy percent capacity
- Chevrolet Bolt EV is covered for eight years or 100,000 miles, to sixty percent capacity
- Kia Soul EV is covered for ten years or 100,000 miles, to seventy percent capacity
- Mercedes B250e is covered for eight years or 100,000 miles to seventy percent capacity
- Volkswagen e-Golf is covered for eight years or 100,000 miles to seventy percent capacity.
When automakers back up their product with solid warranties, it bolsters consumer confidence – and sales.
Nissan LEAF pictured. In most modern electrical vehicles, mighty battery packs sit below the passengers—making them lighter to steer.
Tips for Maintaining Your EV Battery
Another indicator of growing consumer confidence is also apparent in the proliferation of online do-it-yourself EV battery care tips. Some examples include:
- Don’t leave battery sitting at one hundred percent state of charge too often, because it’s stressfull for the battery
- Avoid deep discharging of battery
- Avoid extreme temperatures (store in a garage whenever possible)
- What to do with EV if going away on vacation? Set charge level to fifty percent and leave it plugged in – if you can.
- Minimize quick charging whenever possible
Whenever do-it-yourself tips embark making an appearance, it signals the emergence of a more engaged consumer. And as EV batteries become more affordable, durable, and backed up by manufacturer warranties, the last barriers to EV ownership are tied to begin tumbling down.
Like this article?
Subscribe to be notified as soon as we post similar content, including other occasional electrified vehicle tips, trends, and best practices.
What You Should Know About Today – s Electrical Car Batteries
What You Should Know About Today’s Electrical Car Batteries
Most consumers regard batteries with a slight hint of contempt and mistrust. Who can blame them? Based on their practice with cellphones and laptops, batteries are needy snowflakes with fickle charging schedules, and get sucked dry at the least convenient moment.
But unlike their temperamental counterparts, electrified vehicle batteries are different. They’re designed to be more sturdy, as they carry a stronger flow and last much longer. Of course, they’re also a little more expensive than your average iPhone battery.
Still, costs for EV batteries have been falling swifter than most could have expected. In fact, EV battery costs declined by thirty five percent inbetween two thousand fourteen and 2015.
That’s the result of switches to cell chemistry, manufacturing processes and aggressive pricing by large manufacturers elbowing their way into the lucrative market. Things are getting competitive, and OPEC is feeling the warmth.
They’re predicting there will be 1.7 million EVs on the road by 2020, while Bloomberg Fresh Energy Finance estimates it will be more like 7.Four million, with two million sold in two thousand twenty alone. Bloomberg also expects electrified cars to make up thirty five percent of light vehicle sales by 2040. Latest developments, such as rapidly decreasing EV battery costs, may give a slight edge to Bloomberg’s crystal ball.
Want more content like this? Subscribe to our newsletter and we’ll send it right to your inbox.
“Experts say EV battery costs could be under $100/kilowatt hour by 2020, and after that, go down to about $80/kilowatt hour.”
– John McElroy, Ward’s Auto
Reducing Battery Costs
It’s no secret that batteries represent a large chunk of EV switch, and are presumed to be one of the thicker stumbling blocks to EV ownership. Reducing this cost quickly & neatly trims EV cost. The battery cells used in the Chevy Bolt are now running at $145/kWh – should that drop to $100/kWh, the battery pack would cost $Four,000, significantly slashing the cost of a Bolt.
Of course, cell prices and battery pack prices are two different entities. A battery pack includes individual cells, supporting structure, a cell cooling system and a battery management system. The price of a Tesla battery pack? A cool $190/kWh. But as production ramps up in Tesla‘s Nevada gigafactory, that may switch.
The Tesla gigafactory in Nevada.
Should battery prices fall below $100/kWh, EV sales could skyrocket to one million vehicles a year, along with another million plug-in hybrids. And market share of vehicles with electrical motors could well surge from the current one percent to over ten percent in just a few brief years.
What about battery degradation?
But there’s more to the EV battery consideration than cost. Just how much bang do you get for your EV buck? PlugIn America surveyed Tesla Model S owners, covering five hundred nineteen vehicles that travelled 13,992,158 total miles – or an average of 17,523 miles per year (that’s actually more than the 13,476 average annual mileage calculated by the Federal Highway Administration).
It turns out that the Model S lost about five percent of its power in the very first 50,000 miles, at which point, battery degradation slowed. Some with 100,000 plus miles had battery degradation of less than eight percent. Elon Musk claims to have a Tesla battery pack with over 500,000 simulated miles still running at over eighty percent of its original capacity!
Reported battery capacity (by the vehicle) versus miles driven. Graph from PlugIn America survey linked above.
What factors affect EV battery life?
To understand what impacts a battery’s life, it’s significant to very first understand how it works. EV batteries are lithium based – when they are charged and discharged once, it’s called a cycle. A battery’s capacity will degrade as the cycle number increases. And battery life is measured in those cycles, with the industry standard of cycles close to eighty percent considered a benchmark.
So what shortens the life of a lithium battery? A number of factors:
- High temperatures
- Overcharging or high voltage
- Deep discharges or low voltage
- High discharges or charge current
When a lithium battery is charged, the voltage leisurely rises. When it reaches total charge, voltage is at its highest and will not go up any more. There’s a need to keep voltage from getting excessive, which is why batteries come with a battery management system (BMS). These control the charging voltage so maximum charging voltage and temperature is never exceeded.
Automakers Backing Up EV Batteries with Warranty
At the end of the day, the question still stands – how reliable are EV batteries? Like many other commodities, the true test is the readiness of the manufacturer to back up their product in writing – the warranty.
While EV manufacturers do provide warranties against excessive capacity loss, some warranties are better than others. BMW, Chevrolet, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Brainy and Volkswagen will warranty their batteries to various levels. On the other arm, Fiat, Ford, Mitsubishi and Tesla specifically exclude capacity from their EV warranty, providing only for the actual failure of the battery – not any loss of capacity.
It’s interesting to note that Nissan originally figured the LEAF would retain eighty percent capacity after five years, and seventy percent after ten years. Some LEAF owners exceeded this estimate, while others fell brief. Now, Nissan offers a capacity warranty – should a LEAF lose four bars on its capacity gauge (this equates to about seventy percent capacity, but is not stipulated as such in the warranty) before sixty months or 60,000 miles, whichever comes very first, Nissan will repair or substitute the battery for free. For the two thousand sixteen LEAF, which came tooled with a thirty kWh battery, Nissan extended the warranty to ninety six months or 100,000 miles!
Here are some other examples of how manufacturers cover EV batteries:
- BMW i3 is covered for eight years or 100,000 miles, to seventy percent capacity
- Chevrolet Bolt EV is covered for eight years or 100,000 miles, to sixty percent capacity
- Kia Soul EV is covered for ten years or 100,000 miles, to seventy percent capacity
- Mercedes B250e is covered for eight years or 100,000 miles to seventy percent capacity
- Volkswagen e-Golf is covered for eight years or 100,000 miles to seventy percent capacity.
When automakers back up their product with solid warranties, it bolsters consumer confidence – and sales.
Nissan LEAF pictured. In most modern electrified vehicles, powerful battery packs sit below the passengers—making them lighter to steer.
Tips for Maintaining Your EV Battery
Another indicator of growing consumer confidence is also apparent in the proliferation of online do-it-yourself EV battery care tips. Some examples include:
- Don’t leave battery sitting at one hundred percent state of charge too often, because it’s tense for the battery
- Avoid deep discharging of battery
- Avoid extreme temperatures (store in a garage whenever possible)
- What to do with EV if going away on vacation? Set charge level to fifty percent and leave it plugged in – if you can.
- Minimize rapid charging whenever possible
Whenever do-it-yourself tips embark making an appearance, it signals the emergence of a more engaged consumer. And as EV batteries become more affordable, durable, and backed up by manufacturer warranties, the last barriers to EV ownership are trussed to begin tumbling down.
Like this article?
Subscribe to be notified as soon as we post similar content, including other occasional electrical vehicle tips, trends, and best practices.