Tech

Buying EV? What is Important to Know About Battery Upgrades

EVs are truly the future of the automotive industry. In just the past four years, we’ve seen their sales more than double. They’ll continue to increase even further and to ensure this, the batteries used in electric vehicles must be upgraded. 

To do this, there are a couple of technologies that are coming up. The state of the batteries used in electric cars will be developed to make them more efficient, powerful, and sustainable. We’ll also see improvements in their charging technology and all the aspects of safety. 

The following tells you everything in brief:

  1. Upgraded battery tech

The main difference between EVs and the ICEs that we know and love is the battery pack. It is the main selling point because it doesn’t just make EVs greener, but it also saves users thousands of dollars in annual fuel costs. 

To do this, there is an ongoing race between automakers to improve electric vehicle battery technology. All the manufacturers are aiming to grab consumers by providing a better range to reduce the need for charging-related stoppages. 

They’re also working on faster charging times so that the users don’t have to stop for long. Better vehicle performance is always appreciated, which is easier to achieve in BEVs. More power is always preferred but automakers are also looking to make batteries lighter. 

Lastly, safety and reliability are also on the agenda to make these cars more dependable. As we know, the main aspect of the reliability and lifetime of any vehicle, along with a regular service, is the maintenance with genuine spare parts. Thankfully, there are on the market some auto parts suppliers like https://sts-global.com/auto-parts where reliable genuine parts supplying is not an issue.

  1. Faster charging tech

Let’s face it, the number one argument from anti-EV people is that these cars charge slower than their ICE counterparts. Now, this is true as the fastest charging provided in consumer EVs today still manages to take around half an hour.

But there are researchers and companies that are working hard to correct this. The latest breakthrough achieved in this regard is from Morand eTechnology. This is a new company that’s working towards faster charging batteries and improved energy recovery systems. 

They’ve recently made a breakthrough in improving electric car battery technology charging. They’ve come up with a system that needs only 150 seconds to charge up. Should this be tested and implemented, we could see the EV industry go to a whole new level. 

  1. Increased safety

You cannot have advances in battery technologies for electric vehicles without making them safer. One of the myths about EVs is that they easily catch electrical fires. Now, while this is very rare, it still happens and automakers spend huge chunks of money to prevent it. 

On top of this, fires due to electrical failures are much more difficult to put out. This is because water is a good conductor of electricity. So, this why it is imperative to make these battery packs as fireproof as possible. 

Thankfully, a research carried out by a team at Stanford resulted in a new type of electrolyte that can do just that. What they’ve created is a liquid that is non-combustible, even if you subject it to higher temperatures up to 60 degrees celsius. 

They’ve reportedly increased the amount of salt in the system. This can give the batteries the ability to go up to much higher temperatures. As a result, you don’t have to worry about any EVs catching fire. 

Companies are hence working on solid state batteries for the job. In these, these replace the liquid electrolytes with their solid counterparts. As a result, you get batteries that are more non-flammable than the ones we have in use today. 

  1. Renewable construction 

The whole point on EVs was to utilize renewable materials and energy sources. This also means that these battery packs should contain materials that aren’t scarce or are abundant. There are many manufacturers working on such types of batteries. 

For example, the magicians at the UoT are working on batteries that don’t have cobalt in them. Similarly, Mercedes and IBM, two giants in their industries, are reportedly coming up with battery packs that are made from the components you’ll find in seawater. 

There are organizations that are doing research on alternatives to lithium-ion batteries as well. These are the ones that are found in most of the world’s EVs. However, we could see zinc-air and sand battery packs in the future.