Owning an EV without a home charger can be annoying, but owning an EV without a home charger in cold weather is torture. EVs generally need to be charged more frequently in cold weather because using the climate controls and other systems uses more battery power. Charging can also take longer due to the cold weather’s impact on the battery chemistry, but a new technology from the University of Michigan promises to cut charging times to a fraction of their current levels.
The University’s engineering team has developed a solution for a problem that causes residues to build up inside the cells, slowing charging and reducing battery life. By applying a microscopic layer of lithium borate-carbonate, the team found improvements in charging speeds and battery life, and it’s not a small change.
UM’s engineers recorded a 500-percent increase in charging speeds, replenishing the battery in less than ten minutes. Additionally, those speeds remain consistent at temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit, and the group said the batteries retain 97 percent capacity after 100 fast charges.
While many of the advanced battery chemistries and manufacturing processes we hear about are years off, this one doesn’t seem like a seismic shift from current production methods. Neil Dasgupta, a UM associate professor, said, “We envision this approach as something that EV battery manufacturers could adopt without major changes to existing factories. For the first time, we’ve shown a pathway to simultaneously achieve extreme fast charging at low temperatures, without sacrificing the energy density of the lithium-ion battery.”
[Images: Ford, Tesla, Hyundai]
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