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We used to be concerned with the number of cylinders and volume of an internal combustion engine. However, in electric cars, the electric motor is only secondary. It provides the driver, but it’s useless without the battery. Blick clarifies the most important questions about electricity storage, from installation to disposal.
How is an electric car battery made?
We often confuse the terms battery and accumulator: Technically, an accumulator, exactly as it is called, is a rechargeable chemical electricity storage element – the so-called cell. For example, in the case of VW Stromer ID.3, 24 such cells make up one battery module, and up to twelve modules make up the battery in the pack. The determining factor is the number of battery cells in the battery. It determines the capacity and therefore the range. Cells are still purchased today from suppliers such as LG or Samsung; battery packs are developed by the manufacturers themselves, for example Mercedes and VW are planning their own battery factories – this should cut costs.
How does a battery store electricity?
Briefly explained: A cell consists of two electrodes surrounded by electrolyte, a conductive medium. This is still mostly liquid today, but can also be a gel or solid. Current flows between two electrodes – anode and cathode. The electrodes and electrolyte contain lithium atoms that release their electrons when the electric motor requires energy – the flow of electricity. Because the negatively charged electrons are gone, the atom becomes a positively charged ion. If the battery is plugged in, these ions attract new electrons and become neutrally charged atoms – the battery is full.
What is voltage?
The higher the voltage, the more energy can be transferred. Most electric vehicles have around 400 volts, even the Porsche Taycan runs on 800 volts, which is almost 3.5 times the household voltage of 230 volts. The power electronics are the brains of the electric car: they regulate the propulsion and convert the direct current from the battery into alternating current for the electric motor.
Where is the battery in the electric car?
The cell modules are in a common rugged enclosure that protects the modules. In almost all electric cars today, the battery is located under the floor. All components are connected by orange high voltage wires.
How much is an electric car battery?
It usually weighs between about 300 and 750 kilograms. The battery of the small car VW e-Up is slightly lighter at 248 kg. Tesla Model 3 weighs 478 kilograms; The Porsche Taycan Turbo carries around 630 kilograms of batteries. Important battery data are energy density (watt-hours per kilogram, Wh/kg), energy stored per kilogram, and power density (watts per kilogram, W/kg, ie power output per kilogram). The maximum energy density of modern lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles is 140 Wh/kg. Since a typical electric car consumes about 20,000 Wh per 100 kilometers, it must carry around 150 kilograms of batteries.
what is capacity
Capacity indicates how much energy a battery can provide over a period of time. It determines the range of the electric car. For example, the battery of the Porsche Taycan Turbo can provide 93.4 kilowatts per hour (kilowatt hour, kWh). Or 31.13 in three hours. The Taycan will theoretically have a range of approximately 365 kilometers and a factory consumption of 25.6 kWh per 100 kilometers. But on the one hand, we don’t always use full power, and on the other hand, electric cars recover energy when braking – which is why Porsche states up to 450 kilometers. Capacity decreases with age and range becomes shorter.
How are electric car batteries made?
Electric car batteries are made from lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese. Lithium and cobalt mined in Australia are increasingly used in some countries as they are mined in poor working conditions and causing great damage to the environment. In addition, research on alternative materials for cells has been ongoing for a long time. What about the legendary rare earths? They are not found in large quantities in the battery, as is usually thought, but in the magnets of the electric motor.
A 50 kWh battery contains approximately the following amounts of raw materials.
- 6kg of lithium
- 10 kg of manganese
- 11 kg of cobalt
- 32 kg nickel
- 50 to 100 kg of graphite
How much does an electric car battery cost?
Despite falling costs, the battery remains the most expensive part of the electric car. Manufacturers assume that as soon as battery prices drop to $100 per kilowatt-hour capacity, electric cars will be able to catch up with combustion cars in terms of price. Manufacturers don’t like to talk about prices: a few years ago prices were definitely under $200; Currently, a kilowatt hour is likely to cost between $145 and $160.
How long does an electric car battery last?
About eight to ten years. This mainly depends on the number of charge cycles and the frequency of fast charging which causes the batteries to age faster. Modern lithium-ion batteries can handle up to 3000 charge cycles. A Tesla Model S crossed the million-mile mark with just three batteries. Moreover, Tesla is working on a super battery with a lifespan of one million miles (1.6 million kilometers) and twenty years. Over time, the capacity drops to 70 to 80 percent of the original value, depending on the type of charge, the number of charge cycles and driving style.
What should you pay attention to when installing?
In general, a charge level of 20 to 80 percent is best for a battery; it more or less reduces the lifespan due to the voltage in the cells being too high or too low. About 10 percent of the charged current is dissipated as heat. Important when charging: Only up to 80 percent full charge is charged. Then it is downregulated to protect the heating cells – the charging time is significantly longer.
How to dispose of old electric car batteries?
After being used in electric cars, many have a so-called “second life”: stationary storage for private households, emergency power storage in hospitals, or temporarily storing wind energy until needed. This “second life” could easily last ten years.
After that, the batteries will be recycled. In particular, aluminum, steel and plastic are currently being recovered. Recycling the much more important raw materials in the battery is still very expensive right now. Researchers primarily target lithium and cobalt, as well as graphite. The think tank “Agora Energiewende” assumes that by 2030 around ten percent of the raw material needed for batteries will be recycled.
How is the future?
Solid-state batteries are considered the next big step in overcoming range anxiety. The liquid electrolyte is converted to solid materials. Its advantages are higher energy density, less complexity, less space requirement and cheaper production. It will probably be a few years until mass production.
Until then, manufacturers will continue to develop the lithium-ion battery. The next step should be cobalt-free batteries. Chinese automaker Great Wall and General Motors, among others, are working on it.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
