Why Would Lithium-Ion Batteries Be the Future of Electric Vehicles?
Published on : Wednesday 22-04-2020
Today, we have approached new solutions to drive Electric Vehicles (EVs) on the road, which helps make our earth greener. Meanwhile, whatever the kinds of electric vehicles they all must have battery stacks that ignite the power required to drive the vehicle. Whether it is an electric vehicle, hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), or plug-in hybrid (PHEV), they require power and current. However, to supply the required power, lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries have now become the popular choice because of their better energy-to-weight ratio than the previously-used Nickel-metal hydride batteries (NiMH batteries).
Battery-powered electric vehicles are in a position to make a significant presence on the road in the coming years. Lithium-ion batteries provide a more efficient storage capacity over multiple charge-discharge cycles and bear less charge leakage when not in use. Unlike NiMH batteries, lithium-ion technology can use fewer individual cells to generate hundreds of volts.
According to ABI Research, a global tech market advisory firm, the ongoing and major advancements in battery technology will create ways for an installed EV base of 100 million by 2028. Lithium-ion batteries are the current standard for electric vehicles, but they have short life cycles so far and have a history of overheating.
Principal Analyst at ABI Research, James Hodgson said that “Recent research around lithium-based chemistries has revolved around using different lithium-based batteries to provide better fire resistance, quicker charges, and longer life spans.” However, while the batteries will continue to progress, it will be solid-state and lithium-silicon technologies that will change the electric vehicle battery system.
Despite its benefits, using lithium-ion batteries pose challenges, as its each cell must be accurately monitored and balanced to make sure user safety, as well as improving and extending battery performance and life. Managing and monitoring Li-ion batteries are vital because they have fire issues in lower voltage notebook computers that experienced over-voltage peaks. Even though the quality of battery fabrication has improved, protecting against higher temperature and fault conditions in any automotive application remains vital for reliable operation.
Investments from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Volkswagen, BMW Group, and Daimler, in solid-state technology and lithium-silicon technology companies, including QuantumScape, Solid Power, Enevate and Sila Nanotechnologies, indicate how imperative these technologies will be for the future of electric vehicle battery systems.
Comprehensively, we believe Li-ion batteries are the future of electric vehicles that will improve performance and carry more energy, at a lower cost. As the market for electric vehicles will grow in the coming days, the demand for raw materials in electric car lithium battery production will also increase. Additionally, the decline in prices of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, the uncertainty surrounding what the best proportion of raw materials is, the race to manufacture battery packs and to secure minerals necessary for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, are few growth factors that will shape the EV industry.