Electric Car Battery

(Last Updated On: April 16, 2021)

The electric car battery is a crucial determinant for mileage nowadays. 160 years after the invention of French physicist Gaston Plant rechargeable lead-battery, energy-saving technologies have made great progress through electronic chemical processes. This article will discuss the types and performance of an electric car battery.

All scientific work had the same goal: to find the best possible compromise between battery weight, storage capacity, production cost, lifetime, recharging capacity and environmental impact, especially when it comes to recycling.

1. Lead-acid battery

Invented in 1859, lead-acid batteries are still available in many vehicles, both combustion, and electronic engines, and a popular type of electric car battery.

In 1899, the electric vehicle featured in this technology, “La Jamais Content” (“The Never Happy”), was actually the first vehicle to exceed 100 km / h before combustion engine vehicles.

Nowadays, lead-acid batteries are no longer used for traction, but for the electrical circuits of accessories or for the combustion engines like starters to get electrical components of certain components.

Lead-acid batteries offer a limited capacity despite only having a significant amount of weight, but it is both cheap and easy to produce and easy to recycle advantage. On the way of further improvements on the electric car battery.

2. Nickel-Cadmium Battery

If you use rechargeable batteries in the 90s, you are already familiar with nickel-cadmium technology, and a popular type of electric car battery.

The “Ni-CD” collectors had many advantages, significant storage density and a lifetime of around 500 to 1,000 charging cycles.

However, they suffer from the effects of memory, a physical phenomenon that shows a decline in battery performance if it is subjected to a partial “charge-drain” cycle.

Used to produce electric vehicles in the 90s, Ni-CD batteries are now banned due to cadmium poisoning.

3. Nickel-metal hydride battery

Nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) collectors, with similar performance to Ni-CD technology, have seen greater success due to the absence of heavy metals, and a popular type of electric car battery.

This portable rechargeable battery technology was the most economical in the early 2000s, which is why it dominated the hybrid vehicle market until the advent of lithium-ion technology.

4. Lithium-ion battery

Developed in the early nineties, lithium-ion batteries have gradually established themselves as a leading technology in both the transportation world and the consumer electronics industry, and a popular type of electric car battery.

With longevity, it provides a much higher energy density than all competing technologies and is not subject to memory effects.

But it does not require proper packaging as well as proper control of the recharging process, which is usually achieved through a dedicated electronic circuit.

Renault uses lithium-ion technology for ZOE and other electronic vehicles in the range.

Furthermore, the group is working to integrate its batteries into a circular economy setup that aims to extend its lifespan as much as possible.

5. Solid-state battery

Scientific research has long explored the concept of solid-state batteries, but it is only in the last 10 years that its advancement has enabled us to imagine the adoption of technology by the automotive industry in the distant future.

The basic principle behind this is to replace the battery’s liquid electrical power plant with a solid substance that can take the form of a plastic polymer, an inorganic powder or a mixture of the two.

Nevertheless, the solid-state is still in the laboratory prototype stage. Lithium-ion battery still has a lot of life left, and a popular type of electric car battery to many users!

Electric Car Battery – Type | Performance | Mileage