Types of electric car batteries and service life
Lead-acid battery
A stable performance battery. It has a long history and is inexpensive, but the service life is short, only about 5 years, is the first of the early electric car battery.
Its working principle is through the positive and negative plates on the active material and electrolyte chemical reaction, so as to realize the storage and release of electric energy.
Nickel-cadmium batteries
The storage capacity of this type of battery is greater than that of lead-acid batteries, and the life expectancy is slightly longer than that of lead-acid batteries. But due to the cadmium element is harmful to human body, so not too much into the market was eliminated, replaced by nickel-metal hydride batteries.
Nickel-metal hydride batteries
Early used in pure electric vehicles and non-plug-in hybrid vehicles, its energy density and service life is much higher than that of lead-acid batteries. Its service life can reach about 8-10 years.
Lithium-ion battery
It has the advantages of high energy density and long service life. According to the different cathode materials, they can be divided into lithium cobalt acid battery, lithium manganese acid battery, lithium iron phosphate battery and lithium ternary battery (lithium nickel cobalt manganese acid) and so on. Lithium-ion batteries have a life span of 10-15 years, which is currently the longest service life of the battery range.
Fuel Cells
These include hydrogen fuel cells and other types of fuel cells, such as alkaline fuel cells, phosphoric acid fuel cells, and so on. These batteries generate electricity through a chemical reaction and are commonly used in fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), but are not yet popularized on a large scale.
Which types of batteries are mainly used in electric vehicles?
Currently, mainstream electric vehicles mainly use lithium-ion batteries. This is because these batteries have some of the following advantages:
- High energy density: Lithium-ion batteries have a high energy density, which means that they can store more electrical energy under the same volume or weight, enabling electric vehicles to have a longer range.
- Miniaturization: Lithium-ion batteries are smaller for the same amount of electrical energy. This means that if you switch to another type of battery, you will need more space, whereas with lithium-ion batteries you can take up less space.
- Longer cycle discharge times: Because lithium-ion batteries use cathode and anode materials that are very stable, they have longer discharge times when in use.
- No memory effect: we have heard that the battery should be recharged when it is empty occasionally, that is for the battery with memory effect. Like lithium-ion batteries, there is no memory effect, we do not need to completely run out of power in the charging, which has made greater convenience for our daily replenishment of power.
- Mature industry chain and lower cost: due to the development of lithium-ion batteries for a long time, lithium-ion battery industry chain is very mature, so the cost has been greatly reduced, so there is no need to use other batteries as a substitute.
- In line with environmental protection: lithium-ion batteries do not contain heavy metals, less pollution to the environment, in favor of the needs of sustainable development.
- Stable performance: compared with other types of batteries, lithium-ion batteries are much more stable, and can work in a wide range of temperatures, so the applicability is also very broad.
Summarize
With the advancement of technology and the development of the market, the service life of electric vehicle batteries has been significantly improved. Currently, mainstream lithium-ion batteries typically have a lifespan of 10-15 years, which is sufficient to meet the needs of the average household.
Although lead-acid batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries still have advantages in some aspects, they have a relatively short service life and are less environmentally friendly. Therefore, lithium-ion batteries have become the main choice for electric vehicles due to their excellent overall performance.
