| How innovative packaging is boosting EV battery performance |
As we wait to see if solid state batteries or another major EV chemical breakthrough finally emerges, keep a close eye on how battery makers are packaging today’s batteries.
“That’s where the real advancements” in EV battery performance stem from today, Conrad Layson, senior alternative propulsion analyst at AutoForecast Solutions LLC, told me.
In this week’s Automotive News, we take a look at the challenges facing the industry in finding that breakthrough in battery technology.
From a chemical standpoint, lithium ion battery development has more or less plateaued. But the industry doesn’t need to rely only on chemical breakthroughs to see marked improvements in battery performance. Innovative ways of packaging battery cells can also yield higher ranges, faster charging times or lower production costs.
Tesla’s 4680 battery is one of the most high-profile examples, with its cylindrical design allowing for increased range and cheaper production. Likewise, Chinese automaker BYD’s Blade lithium-iron phosphate, LFP, battery has drawn the attention of other automakers, such as Toyota. The battery is less bulky than a traditional LFP battery and achieves higher energy density because of its design.
The industry is still chasing after solid state batteries or other promising battery chemistries, and for good reason. A major breakthrough that greatly reduces charging times while sharply increasing range would serve to alleviate many consumers’ concerns about EVs and boost electrification efforts worldwide.
But even with unprecedented sums of money being poured into battery research, that will take time to come to fruition. How much time is impossible to know. In the meantime, though, improving present-day battery performance at the margins through innovative packaging designs or other means should still yield positive results — and make EVs that much more enticing to consumers.
— John Irwin