New Battery Tech Improves EV Range
New battery technology could improve the range of electric vehicles (EVs).
Scientists at the University of Michigan have been developing new technology that will increase the range of an EV battery.
Professor Nicholas Kotov, University Professor of Chemical Sciences and Engineering led the research. The development in battery technology could EVs increase the range of an EV by 5 times.
Technicians have adapted lithium-sulfur batteries to make them suitable for use in vehicles. EVs currently on the market tend to use lithium-ion technology. Lithium-sulfur batteries have a much higher capacity, making them more powerful.
Lithium-sulfur batteries were originally unsuitable for vehicles due to their short lifespan. Before this advancement, they could only cycle an average of 10 times. Cycling is the ability of a battery to drain and recharge. To be suitable for an EV, batteries would need to be able to cycle many times over their lifespan.
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“The challenge nowadays is to make a battery that increases the cycling rate from the former 10 cycles to hundreds of cycles and satisfies multiple other requirements including cost.”
– Professor Nicholas Kotov.
The updated batteries feature a membrane that delays the degradation. This increases the lifespan and makes it more suitable for vehicle use.
Kotov says this “nearly perfect” design has a higher capacity and efficiency. This makes them close to the “theoretical limits” of what an EV battery could withstand.
The development means that the new batteries are able to withstand extreme temperatures. This makes them ideal for cross-country couriering.
The more powerful battery could also increase a standard EVs range by up to 5 times and increase the lifespan.
The batteries are also more sustainable than the traditional lithium-ion technology. Whereas the production of lithium-ion batteries needs cobalt, lithium-sulfur relies on sulfur. This is more accessible than cobalt making them easier and cheaper to produce. The scientists also found that they can produce the new membrane by recycling old bulletproof vests.
Since the development, the has patented the membrane with the intention to bring it to the market.
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New Battery Tech Improves EV Range