2022 Guide About Li-Ion Electric Car Battery

Automobile manufacturers have been using li-ion electric car battery technology to power their electric vehicles. Many factors have helped this technology rise to prominence over the years, including its power-to-weight ratio, high energy density, and low self-discharge.

Many types of lithium-ion batteries can be used in electric vehicles today. A few factors that can affect the energy are density, weight, voltage, and chemical properties of batteries. These characteristics will impact their power and range, as well as the cost to car manufacturers. Consumers will see an increase in the cost of EVs if batteries are included.

Structure of Li-Ion electric car Battery

The cathode chemical structure of lithium-ion batteries is what the industry uses to classify them. NMC and NCA are the most popular chemistries used in electric cars today. LFP, LMO, LFP, and LMO are also common. But what does the meaning of these letters? They are the materials used to make the anode (positive electrode) of the battery. These materials include nickel, manganese, cobalt, cobalt (aluminum), iron, and phosphate.

Then where is the lithium? Lithium is found in the cathode structures when it’s discharged. The liquid electrolyte in a battery is where lithium can be found. There, its ions can move between the anode and the cathode (negative electrode) during charge and vice-versa when discharged. A fully charged battery will have a significant amount of lithium in its anode structure.

How does my battery chemistry affect my vehicle’s performance?

NMC and NCA nickel-based batteries offer superior performance. These chemistries have been used by many automotive manufacturers, such as Tesla and Volkswagen, BMW, Audi, GM, and Audi for their Bolt model. Due to the higher cost of nickel and cobalt, these batteries can be more expensive to manufacture. LFP or LMO batteries, on the other hand, are more efficient and easier to produce but less stable.

Energy is also an essential factor to consider. To offer consumers more power and range, the energy in KWh found inside EV batteries has been steadily rising over the years. Tesla, Porsche, and Audi can have energy levels ranging from 30 to 100KWh. When assembled into a battery package, the battery cells come in three forms. The cylindrical 18650 is the first, while the pouch and prismatic versions are the second and third.

All these characteristics are required to be considered when recycling any battery.

The Best Li-Ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles

All our electronic devices use lithium batteries. These include phones, tablets, cellphones, laptops, cars, entire buildings, and even whole cities. They are energy-dense and long-lasting, which is a clear advantage. However, they can be unstable and susceptible to fire in some circumstances. We present the most commonly used types today and explain why some are unsuitable for electric cars.

Li-Ion batteries are often misunderstood as if they were all the same. That is one reason why phone batteries with Li-Ion batteries are often discarded after just three years. However, the batteries used in electric cars can last more than a decade. Both types work the same.

Lithium ions can store energy by creating an electric potential difference in the battery’s negative and positive poles. These are separated by a separator material that prevents internal discharge. Although the separator blocks the electrons, it allows the lithium-ions to pass through. The separator is used to allow the ions to pass through the battery when it is charging. The opposite happens when you remove the battery.

Types of Li-Ion electric car battery.

Different characteristics will be based on the materials and chemicals used to build the Li-Ion electric car battery cells. There is no single solution to Li-Ion electric car battery Chemistry. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages. That will determine which are the most suitable applications for each one. The active materials used to make them are what give their names.

LFP
LCO
LMO
NMC
NCA
LTO

LFP

Tesla has only recently begun to use LiFePO4 for its base Model 3. These are also known as LFP. They use graphitic-carbon electrodes as anodes and phosphate as the cathode material. They have long life spans and excellent thermal stability. However, they are low in specific energy. The nominal voltage at 3.2-volt is very high. Therefore, connecting four cells will create a convenient 12.8-volt battery. LFP Chemistry is ideal for replacing lead-acid deep cycle batteries in various applications. They can also be used in electric cars, as Tesla demonstrated.

LCO

Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO) batteries have high specific energy but low specific power. They are great for low-power devices like phones, tablets, and laptops. Safety is a concern, which is why they are losing popularity to other chemistries. They are also very costly and have a short life expectancy.

LMO

Lithium Manganese Oxide (LMO) lithium manganese oxide (LMO) battery uses lithium manganese dioxide as the cathode, which results in a three-dimensional structure. This LMO allows for a better flow of ions. It has additional benefits such as better thermal stability, safety, and increased reliability.

LMO batteries have high specific powers and charge fast. They are ideal for power tools as well as hybrid and electric vehicles. Their main problem is their short lifespan. They can only be charged 300-700 times.

NMC

Lithium manganese cobalt dioxide (NMC) and lithium nickel manganese-cobalt oxide batteries are highly stable and offer high specific energies. They are ideal for power tools but can also be used to power e-scooters, electric bikes, and other electric vehicles. The main problem with these NMC batteries is their lower voltage.

NCA

Lithium-nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) battery offers the highest specific energy and decent specific power with a long lifecycle. These batteries are suitable for electric vehicles and need to be tested adequately due to their more unstable nature. Tesla uses NCA for all vehicles except the Model 3 Base Edition. This vehicle is the first to utilize LFP chemistry.

LTO

Lithium Titanate Oxide (LTO) batteries use this material in place of graphite as the anode. The cathode uses either LMO or NMC Chemistry. That creates a highly safe battery, has a longer lifespan, and charges much faster than other types. These batteries sound lovely but are also extremely expensive and have a lower power density. They are often used in military, aerospace, wind, solar energy storage, charging stations, and some electric vehicles.

Which battery type is primarily used in EVs?

It is easy to identify that of the six Lithium-Ion batteries available, the LCO is one of the most largely used, despite its numerous disadvantages. Most mobile phones and other portable devices use this type of chemistry in the millions of billions. However, the NCA/NCM and LFP batteries are most famous for electric vehicles.

Although these types are most commonly used, others are still being developed. Scientists are working hard to replace lithium with other materials. Meanwhile, the electrolyte remains in constant improvement. Solid-state lithium batteries, which are made from a solid electrolyte and are currently in development, promise to increase Li-ion capability while also eliminating some drawbacks.

The chemistry of electric vehicles is not all that important. Different carmakers use different types. The three types used in electric cars are cylindrical, pouch-type, and prismatic batteries. The fact that each type of packaging has different properties complicates the situation.

Cylindrical Batteries

To illustrate, Tesla uses circular cells due to their reliability and endurance. Tesla’s EV battery pack is made up of thousands of cells that can prove cumbersome. Tesla attempts to increase density by using bigger cylindrical batteries. They have used 18650 cells in the past, 2170 in recent years, and 4680 in the future.

Prismatic Batteries

Prismatic cells have the advantage that they are lighter and can fill more spaces due to their rectangular form. Volkswagen’s recent MEB platform vehicles, such as the ID.3 & ID.4, use prismatic cells. However, prismatic batteries are less durable than cylindric.

Pouch-type batteries

The pouch-type batteries, packed in thin, metal bags, are the third. They are more flexible but can be quickly swollen and could cause fire hazards. We are familiar with the pouch-type batteries used by GM and Hyundai.

Carmakers have developed advanced battery management and thermal control systems to ensure their batteries last as long as possible. That is why electric vehicles can run at least 200,000 miles (322,000km) without needing a replacement battery, matching the performance of most modern internal combustion engines.