EV Batteries Last Longer In Real World Use Than Labs: Study

When it comes to all-electric vehicles, one of the biggest concerns consumers have relates to just how long their batteries might last before they need to be replaced. This is understandable given the fact that EV batteries are quite expensive at the moment, though in many cases, we’ve seen those types of units go hundreds of thousands of miles without losing too much capacity. Regardless, a new study has found something rather interesting in regard to EV batteries – they tend to last longer in real-world use than they do in lab testing.

According to Automotive News, a study conducted by the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center – a joint project between the Stanford University Precourt Institute for Energy and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory – found that real-world driving conditions can be less degenerative to EV batteries than lab testing. It stumbled upon this piece of information by monitoring the metrics of battery healthy using two different kinds of charging and discharging – by using a constant current, as is the case in most lab testing, and dynamic cycling that’s common in the real world, where there are bursts of activity and rest.

Ultimately, this testing found that EV batteries subjected to dynamic testing scored better in a number of metrics such as the degradation of electrodes and the amount of lithium present. Researchers applied this testing to 92 different commercial lithium-ion batteries over the course of two years to come up with these results, which produced a bit of a surprise, as they began the testing with the belief that quick pulses of charging and discharging would actually have a negative impact on battery life. Researchers aren’t sure why this is the case, but plan to continue their studies in an effort to better understand it.

Currently, old EV batteries are being used in a variety of ways – recycled and reused or even running generators at plants, for example. However, Ford has explored the idea of creating a swappable battery system for EVs via a pair of patents, while one of its partners – Chinese battery maker CATL – is already embarking on such an endeavor.