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Wired reports that Tesla may soon have batteries with a one million mile lifespan.
From his hideout in a hollowed out volcano last April, Elon Musk promised us (3:10:00)
that Tesla would soon be able to power its electric cars for more than 1 million miles over the course of their lifespan. At the time, the claim seemed a bit much. That's more than double the mileage Tesla owners can expect to get out of their car's current battery packs, which are already well beyond the operational range of most other EV batteries. It just didn't seem real—except now it appears that it is.
Tesla affiliated battery researchers this month described in The Journal of the Electrochemical Society a moderate-energy-density Lithium-Ion Cell chemistry that "should be able to power an electric vehicle for over 1.6 million kilometers (1 million miles) and last at least two decades in grid energy storage."
Led by physicist Jeff Dahn, one of the world's foremost lithium-ion researchers, the Dalhousie group showed that its battery significantly outperforms any similar lithium-ion battery previously reported. They noted their battery could be especially useful for self-driving robotaxis and long-haul electric trucks, two products Tesla is developing.
In a significant break from the usual, complete details on the cells, including "electrode compositions, electrode loadings, electrolyte compositions, additives used, etc." were provided by the researchers "so that others can recreate these cells and use them as benchmarks for their own R+D efforts."
The team's results show that their batteries could be charged and depleted more than 4,000 times and lose only about 10 percent of their energy capacity. For the sake of comparison, a paper from 2014 showed that similar lithium-ion batteries lost half their capacity after only 1,000 cycles.
Side Note - Tesla, Musk, and the researchers have neither confirmed nor denied that the upcoming one million mile battery packs touted by Musk last year are the same as the paper describes.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Tuesday September 24 2019, @01:12PM (5 children)
Nice typo in the summary: "Lithion Cell Chemistry."
Gas tanks aren't immune to time and maintenance. Let one sit empty for a decade, and if it isn't air tight or in a dry environment, condensation will have accumulated and rusted out the bottom, giving you not just one hole, but hundreds. But if you keep it full and don't use it, then in a few years, the gas goes bad. They have to be kept in continuous use.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday September 24 2019, @02:39PM (2 children)
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Tuesday September 24 2019, @05:35PM (1 child)
Oh, there's no question that for energy storage, the gas tank is still superior to the battery. But, the electric motor is so much, much better than a combustion engine that batteries don't have to be half as good as a gas tank for the electric motor and battery combo to win. Maybe a battery a bit better than a tenth as good as a gas tank is enough to push the electric car ahead of the combustion car.
Over time, a battery will discharge, and corrode. Even if you never use it, a battery will go bad. But how quickly that happens depends very much on the innards. Rechargeable NiMH batteries made around 2005 might have lasted only 3 years, and discharged in only 4 to 6 weeks. Batteries from 2010 might last 8 years. Now rechargeable batteries can hold a charge for a year, and might last upwards of 20 years.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @10:39PM
I have a couple of 4Ah NiCad D-cells that are close to 30 years old. They still work, but it would be interesting to measure their capacity.
(Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Tuesday September 24 2019, @09:15PM
Dammit, it's like a curse. Oh well, hopefully nobody notices.
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 2) by martyb on Wednesday September 25 2019, @10:26AM
Huh? Oh? Ohhhhh. Uh oh.
Good catch!
Fixed!
Wit is intellect, dancing.