SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
New Record-Crushing Battery Lasts 1.2 Million Miles in Electric Cars:
Electric cars had their biggest year ever in 2019. As of the end of the year, 2.5 percent of the world's total cars were electric. It's a small percentage, but represents significant growth for the electric vehicle industry.
Before electric cars become more widespread, they have some technological hurdles left to clear, including the distance drivers can go before having to re-charge the car's battery (also known as range anxiety!), and the life of the battery itself. Range currently runs from around 100 miles on the low end up to 200+ miles [see note 1] in newer models, and most warranties run out after 150,000 miles or 8 years.
The latter figures are about to get a big boost after an announcement this week from Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL). The company says it has new battery technology that lasts up to 1.2 million miles (2 million kilometers) and 16 years—and it's ready to manufacture the batteries on demand.
[...] The battery uses lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) for its cathode (positively-charged electrode) and artificial graphite for its anode (negatively-charged electrode). The cathodes of existing batteries use small NMC crystals, but this one uses larger crystals, resulting in a structure that one researcher explained is less likely to develop cracks while the battery charges; that was one of the primary improvements contributing to a longer overall lifespan.
The other was a reformulation of the material that carries ions between the battery's cathode and its anode. Like its predecessors, the new battery uses a lithium salt with additives, and the Dalhousie team devoted a lot of research and time to optimizing the blend of ingredients.
[...] Whatever the company's formula, it seems it will be instrumental to making Elon Musk's vision of a million-mile battery come true, and sooner rather than later. CATL will supply batteries to Tesla Model 3s made at the Gigafactory near Shanghai. Conveniently close to Tesla's first European Gigafactory, which is under construction outside Berlin, CATL is building a factory in Erfurt, Germany that's slated to start making batteries in 2021.
Note 1: According to Wikipedia:
The Model 3 Standard Range Plus version delivers an EPA-rated all-electric range of 250 miles (402 km) and the Long Range versions deliver 322 miles (518 km).
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2020, @08:14PM (5 children)
I call bullshit.
Unless they created this "new battery technology" back in 2004 or prior, they can't possibly say for certain it will last "16 years."
Of course, I realize it only needs to last long enough for them to take your money.
Real breakthroughs in new battery technology is truly something to be excited about.
Sadly, I don't trust anything made from Chineseum.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2020, @09:14PM
Those chinky compact florescent bulbs say 15 year life also. They last 8 months.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2020, @09:37PM
Don't even need to bring China into it for this one. It's about a miracle battery tech, you can stop at that point until it hits mass production.
(Score: 4, Informative) by c0lo on Sunday June 14 2020, @12:19AM (2 children)
Yes, they can. It's actually quite simple:
1. create a small capacity battery - electrode area of 1 cm^2 aren't unusual - one that you can charge-discharge in seconds at nominal currents
2. apply cyclic voltammetry [wikipedia.org] until you see the capacity of the battery dropping at 80% of the original and you've got the number of charge/discharge cycles which defines the life-time of the battery. E.g. at 30secs per voltammetry cycle, 10000 charge/discharge cycles is gonna take 3.5 days, not years. (perspective: current lithium batteries have a life-time between 500-1500 cycles [popularmechanics.com])
Then it is primary school arithmetic:
* multiply that number with the charge capacity of a typical car battery and you've got the total charge that can "transit" through you battery during it's lifetime. Multiply with the voltage of your battery and you've got the total energy. Estimate what distance that energy will allow your car to travel - apply same assumptions with the "miles per gallon" or "liters per 100km".
* multiply that number of cycles with the typical duration of a charge/discharge cycle of a car battery and you'll get the lifetime of the battery in time units.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Sunday June 14 2020, @09:42AM (1 child)
Well that is a shot at it, but does not prove it.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Sunday June 14 2020, @04:10PM
It's generally a pretty good estimate though. And it's really the only way to get a realistic number.
Do you think ANY modern batteries claiming "X year lifespan" have been around in their current form for X years? Of course not, you sell the cutting edge technology you have. By the time you're able to prove your claims, your competitors are already selling products two generations better than yours.
That's where consumer protection laws come in - you sell a 10-year battery that turns out to only last 5, the consumer should be able to reclaim the lost value from you. Of course, modern corporate law provides lots of ways to avoid that responsibility, along with almost all other kinds, so long as you're willing to sacrifice your reputation, but that's why you pay more for well-respected brands.