EV Batteries: Lithium-ion Batteries, Hydrogen Batteries, Solid-state Batteries

EnterKnow: EV Battery Technology Has Come a Long Way, but There's Still Plenty of Opportunity to Optimize This Cutting-Edge Technology

The world’s shift to electric vehicles is a great way to reduce the harmful carbon emissions of internal combustion engines. However, as with all new technology, there are still some issues that need to be addressed. For example, on a single charge, most electric vehicles can only travel 300 to 400 miles before finding a place to charge. That charge can take up to 12 hours without a Level II or Level III charging station. This won’t be a big deal for local driving, but if you have long road trips coming up, keeping to your schedule can become a big problem. This is because current technology isn’t good enough to provide longer ranges. Of course, there are exceptions, like the 2022 Lucid Air, which can travel up to 520 miles on a full charge, and the 2022 Tesla Model S, which can travel up to 405 miles before needing to hit a charging station. These cars show that it’s possible to build an electric car with good range.

However, for most people, it’s still easier to just pull into the nearest gas station, fill up, and hit the road. The great thing about technology is that once it’s been tested and refined, people will embrace it without question. Engineers in the auto industry have looked at a few options that are being rolled out but are much closer to reality than most people think. Let’s break down the three power sources that EVs can use as their primary power source to better understand how they differ.

LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES ARE THE CURRENT CHOICE FOR MOST ELECTRIC AND HYBRID VEHICLES.
Lithium-Ion batteries are arguably the most famous battery on the planet at this point. They have been around for years, powering everything from mobile phones to children’s toys because they last much longer than other cheaper batteries. The main difference that can be found when lithium batteries are used in cars to power the engine, such as in the BMW and Jaguar EV, is that there needs to be a lot more lithium. This is because the battery needs to power the entire car for a decent amount of time.

That’s why hybrids are so popular because when the battery runs out of power , there’s an internal combustion engine that kicks in. When you lift the hood of an EV or Hybrid, you’ll see that there’s usually more than one battery under the hood, each containing thousands of lithium-ion cells. These cells are responsible for storing and releasing the exact amount of energy through cell control. Inside the battery, there are positive electrodes that contain lithium ions, a negative electrode made of graphite, and a liquid (electrolyte) that fills the rest of the battery. They all work together to charge and release the lithium ions that have been converted into energy.

The main problem with lithium-ion batteries is that they can overheat and explode, even causing serious fires that can destroy entire vehicles. They also have a shorter lifespan than expected due to the need to be recharged constantly. This can be seen with cell phone batteries overheating and swelling until they explode, or with them failing after a few years because they have been recharged too many times.

HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS ARE CURRENTLY OUT OF REACH FOR MANY PEOPLE.
Hydrogen fuel cells are another form of energy that is being explored. The Toyota Mirai is a great example of this technology, offering a fantastic car that can travel up to 402 miles on a single tank of hydrogen. A tank of fuel takes an average of just 5 minutes to refuel. It’s similar to how regular ICE cars need to fill up with gas, but the result of using hydrogen is zero emissions.

The way these fuel cells work is actually quite simple. A hydrogen fuel cell is filled with liquid hydrogen, which is fed into a cell mixed with oxygen. The reaction inside the cell between the liquid hydrogen and oxygen converts chemical energy into electrical energy, which is pushed out to power the car. Using hydrogen fuel cells in mass-produced cars is still not really feasible because the technology is relatively new and there are still many bugs to be worked out. One of those problems is the same for all electric and hybrid cars; the country’s infrastructure is not set up for it. Every gas station will need to install and provide a way to refuel a hydrogen car, just as the same person scrambles to power an electric car for the last few miles of use.

Liquid hydrogen also has a low boiling point, making it harder to store and transport. The final drawback to using hydrogen is that it is notorious for finding the smallest cracks or gaps in joints and spilling out. Thankfully, hydrogen is light and dissipates quickly, but the range provided by a hydrogen fuel cell can be significantly reduced by a small leak in the line. It would be difficult to detect a leak without the right equipment, which of course, not many mechanics will have unless the technology gains a better foothold in the market.

SOLID-STATE BEVS ARE THE BATTERIES OF THE FUTURE
Solid-state batteries have actually been used before in electronic devices, wearables. Their main problem is that there is no way to charge them, so they are used once and then thrown away.

However, this small problem has been solved, solid-state batteries are becoming the main power source found in electric and hybrid vehicles as they will have twice the range of any vehicle on the market to date. The main difference in solid-state batteries is that the electrodes inside are all solid. There is no liquid to be found. This means that solid-state batteries can be much smaller than their lithium-ion counterparts, so instead of one lithium battery, manufacturers can put two , giving an EV or Hybrid vehicle double the range.

On top of that, solid-state batteries will last longer than lithium alternatives, being able to be charged up to 5,000 times without needing to be replaced. What that means for consumers is that they could drive more than a million miles before needing to replace their solid-state batteries. The problem is that the technology isn’t ready to be mainstream yet. Researchers are still working to find the perfect combination of atoms and chemical compounds needed to create the ideal mix, a combination that could power any size EV or hybrid. Most BEVs will be equipped with this type of battery system in the future, but the world will have to be patient and wait for the innovative technology to be perfected.