Did you know about different Types of EV Batteries?
When it comes to range, the type of battery behind your electric car is very important. Besides that, the Types of EV Batteries determines how quickly your EV can be charged and how long it will last after the manufacturer’s guarantee is over. The battery pack is so important that it even affects how safe your electric car is.
That brings up a good point: what are the most common types of EV batteries in electric cars?
1. Lead-Acid Battery
Most gasoline-powered cars use a lead-acid battery to start the engine. Also, the GM EV1 and the Ford Ranger EV, two of the first electric cars made in the 1990s, used lead-acid batteries.
EV makers no longer use lead-acid batteries, though, because they’re not very good at what they do. Simply put, lead acid batteries don’t last as long as other types of EV batteries and can’t handle cold weather well. Besides that, they’re big and heavy.
On the other hand, lead acid batteries are cheap and work well if you’re switching from a gasoline-powered car to an electric one, though naval deep-cycle batteries are better for that.
2. Nickel-Metal-Hydride Battery
Automakers often replaced lead acid batteries with nickel metal hydride batteries. The Honda EV Plus, the Toyota RAV4 EV, and the Ford Ranger EV were some of the first electric cars to use nickel metal hydride batteries.
Nickel metal hydride batteries are expensive and don’t work well when they get too hot, so they didn’t catch on in the electric car market. These Types of EV Batteries also lose power more quickly than other types. Nickel metal hydride batteries are more popular in hybrid cars than in electric cars because of this.
Nickel metal hydride cells last longer than lead acid or lithium-ion batteries, which is interesting.
3. Lithium-Ion Battery
Most electric cars today uses Lithium-ion batteries. This is because they are lighter than lead acid or nickel metal hydride batteries and use energy more efficiently. At high temperatures, they are also less likely to overheat, which makes it less possible that a fire will start.
On top of that, lithium-ion batteries take longer to drain than other types. Lithium-ion batteries allow some of the most powerful electric cars to go over 500 miles on a single charge. Even more amazing is the fact that a Tesla with a lithium-ion battery pack comes with an eight-year warranty. However, a Tesla is can last between 300,000 and 500,0000 miles.
But not every lithium-ion battery is the same. Lithium-ion batteries with a cobalt positive charge helps in most high-end electric cars. On the other hand, some EV makers are switching to lithium iron phosphate batteries for their basic electric cars.
Even though lithium-ion batteries have some benefits, one of the biggest problems is that they are not eco-friendly when they are thrown away. Also, mining for lithium-ion raw materials can damage ecosystems that are important to wildlife and native people. A good thing is that there are Types of EV Batteries that work well instead of lithium-ion ones and are better for the world.
Also, lithium-ion batteries can be reused or recovered after they are no longer needed.
4. Solid-State Battery
Solid-state batteries are still being worked on, and electric cars haven’t used them yet. Toyota says that by 2025, the first electric cars with solid-state batteries might be on the road. Since solid-state batteries hold more power than lithium-ion batteries, this could be a “game changer.”
One more good thing about solid-state batteries is that they don’t take up as much room as lithium-ion batteries. Solid-state batteries may double the range of electric cars and make them run better because they are lighter.
But solid-state batteries are still just being studied. We won’t know if they’re better than lithium-ion batteries until they’re mass-produced.
5. Lithium-Sulfur Battery
Lithium-sulfur batteries can be used instead of lithium-ion batteries. Batteries made of lithium-sulfur can last longer than lithium-ion batteries, just like batteries made of solid-state materials. Instead of cobalt-based lithium-ion batteries, the European Commission says these are better because they cost less to make and are better for the earth.
L-sulfur batteries don’t last long, which is why we haven’t seen them on EVs yet. On the other hand, researchers are making tests that could help solve that problem.
6. Nickel-Cadmium Battery
If you used rechargeable batteries in the 1990s, you already know about nickel-cadmium technology. It was good that “Ni-Cd” accumulators could store a lot of energy and last a long time—500 to 1,000 charge cycles.
On the other hand, they did have a memory effect, which is what happens to a battery when it goes through partial “charge-drain” processes. The battery doesn’t work as well now. Ni-Cd batteries were used to power electric cars in the 1990s, but they are now against the law because cadmium is dangerous.
7. Ternary lithium-ion (NMC)
One of the best known Types of EV Batteries for electric cars is the ternary lithium-ion (NMC) battery. Compared to other Li-ion batteries, NMC batteries are cheap, have a lot of space, a high voltage, and don’t leak when they get hot. Nickel is also in NMC batteries, and it helps Li-ion batteries work better.
The Almaz Hybrid is an electric car that uses a Ternary lithium-ion (NMC) type battery. The battery in this hybrid car has a voltage of 355 V24 and can hold 1.8 kWh of power. With this type of battery, the Almaz Hybrid can go up to 1,000 km on a single charge.
Which Kind Of EV Battery is Best?
Most electric car brands in North America use lithium-ion batteries right now. These Types of EV Batteries are made of cobalt, graphite, nickel, or metal. People who drive Teslas can expect their lithium-ion battery pack to last between 300,000 and 500,000 miles. That being said, the most recent electric cars can go between 300 and 500 miles on a full charge.
On the other hand, it costs a lot to update lithium-ion battery packs. The price of your battery is almost half the price of your electric car.
We might be able to make battery packs that are lighter, cheaper, and have a longer power range in the future. There are better Types of EV Batteries than lithium-ion ones, like lithium-sulfur and solid-state batteries, but the EV business hasn’t used them yet.
Nickel metal hydride batteries can also be used in range-extending hybrid cars. But automakers are choosing lithium-ion battery packs for plug-in hybrids. On the other hand, you could use lead-acid batteries to turn an old gas-powered car into an EV.
EV Battery Technology is Getting Better
If you fully charged the batteries in the best electric cars from the 1990s, they could go between 50 and 100 miles. Some electric cars can now go almost 500 miles on a full charge thanks to progress in technology. In ten years, electric cars might be able to go more than one thousand miles on a single charge.
Even better, EV batteries might get better over time so that you won’t have to change them until you’ve driven more than a million miles.
