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How does an electric car battery work?
Why not start at the beginning? How does an electric car battery work? What are its components?
The lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars are similar to those used in our phones and laptops, but they are much bigger.
These batteries are different from the heavy lead-acid batteries used in conventional cars, and have a higher energy density than rechargeable nickel-metal hydride batteries.
What does this mean in practice? Lithium-ion batteries do not lose charge capacity when not in use.
The battery capacity of an electric car is expressed in kilowatt-hours (kWh). More is better here. Choosing an electric vehicle with a higher battery capacity is a bit like buying a car with a bigger gas tank. You'll be able to cover more kilometers before you need to refuel.
⚠️ Good to know, an electric car's management system prevents the battery from charging to 100% or discharging to 100% to preserve its efficiency and extend its life.
As an electric vehicle owner, you can also extend the life of your battery:
- Don't overcharge it: it takes more power to propel a car that is full of passengers and goods, and this parameter affects the battery's performance.
- You have to drive slower: it's just the opposite of a combustion vehicle, which consumes less fuel on the highway. That's one of the reasons why electric cars are perfect city companions.
- Pay attention to the weather: note that extreme temperatures (heatwaves or extreme cold) can affect your electric car 's battery and reduce its range. There are a number of tricks you can use to remedy this problem and avoid temperature changes.
How long does an electric car battery last?
Some electric car buyers opt for an extended warranty for their vehicle's battery. But this isn't really necessary: many manufacturers guarantee their batteries for varying lengths of time.
| Model | Large battery |
|---|---|
| Nissan Leaf e+ 62 kWh | 5 years or 100,000 kms |
| Hyundai Kona electric | 8 years or 200,000 kms |
| Kia e-Niro | 7 years or 150,000 kms |
| Tesla Model S | 4 years/unlimited kilometers |
⚠️ Good to know, some car manufacturers only cover the battery pack against total loss of its ability to hold a charge, which would be extremely rare.
Others, such as BMW, Nissan, Tesla (Model 3) and Volkswagen will replace the battery if it falls below a specified percentage of capacity during the warranty period, which is usually 60-70%.
But how long would it take for an electric car to lose its real range? As mentioned above, although the battery in an electric vehicle tends to degrade slightly with each charge and discharge cycle, this is an extremely slow process. For example, the battery in a Tesla Model S would lose only around 5% of its initial capacity over the first 50,000 kilometers, and this rate will be lower after that.
Encouraging customer feedback
Tesla founder Elon Musk recently claimed that his batteries lasted several hundred thousand kilometers. And we can believe him. Hansjörg Gemmingen is a man with a rather mind-boggling record: he drove his 2013 Tesla Model S over a million kilometers.
Nissan, for its part, is talking about more than 22 years of use before it actually has to change the battery in its electric car. At least, that's what the head of Renault-Nissan Energy Services explained at a conference in Sweden. According to him, the battery life of the Nissan Leaf is between 20 and 22 years. In short, this means that the assumed battery life of a Nissan Leaf would be 12 years longer than the life of the car itself.
Eco-responsible driving
It's highly likely that electric cars driving in the hottest climates will lose battery capacity slightly faster than those driving in more temperate regions. Extreme heat is the chemical enemy of lithium-ion, which is why many electric cars are equipped with liquid-cooled batteries.
What's more, older electric cars (the first electric cars on the market) with a relatively short range can deteriorate more quickly. Indeed, driving until the battery is exhausted has a detrimental effect on its lifespan. This is less of a problem these days: with longer ranges, it's very rare to drive your battery to the point of total discharge.
In summary, in order not to shorten the life of your electric car battery, you must :
- Drive at normal speed (eco-driving) to extend battery life
- Make small partial charges to avoid overcharging your vehicle
- Make sure tires are properly inflated throughout the car's lifetime
Recycling electric car batteries
The batteries that power electric cars (and even hybrids) can be recycled. For decades, the few electric vehicles on the road were powered by lead-acid batteries. The latest models, lighter and with greater range, use lithium-ion batteries, as do laptops and cell phones. In both cases, the batteries powering electric cars can be recycled.
In the case of older-technology lead-acid batteries, 96% of the battery material - including the lead - is recovered. By comparison, only 38% of the material in glass bottles is recovered in the recycling process. They can also be refilled and reused before being recycled.
When the batteries in a lithium-ion vehicle are deemed too worn for driving, they still have up to 80% of their potential left. So, even before arriving at a recycling center, these batteries are used to support the grid, especially alongside energy sources that may not be as stable, such as wind or solar power. Batteries can store energy to help the flow of electricity stay on an even keel rather than ebb and flow over time.
As lithium-ion battery-powered cars have only just come onto the market, recycling centers that can recover their components are still in their infancy.
In France, automakers have formed a partnership with SNAM to guarantee the collection, recycling and traceability of batteries in Europe. This network works with several automotive brands: Peugeot, Citroën, Honda, Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda, BMW and Toyota.
In 2019, Volkswagen has announced the conversion of its Salzgitter plant to lithium-ion batteries. In concrete terms, this means that its site will become a pilot site for opening a battery cell production and recycling line.
READ ALSO - Vehicle-to-grid (V2G): electric cars, a source of energy?
The second life of batteries - second use
This is a second solution for batteries. The idea here is to extend battery life.
Batteries that have become obsolete for a driver's needs can no longer be used in cars. However, they can be used for other applications that require less power from the batteries. This is what we call the second life of batteries. This process delays battery recycling and reduces the ecological impact of battery production.
Now you know all about the service life of an electric car battery. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
