Is it possible to increase the autonomy of electric batteries?

Electric car In Italy, there has been a slowdown in the registration of electric cars recently, although Italians seem predisposed to the shift from internal combustion to electric vehicles. The main factors discouraging buyers are the still considered "elite" cost of purchasing an electric car and the longstanding issue of battery life.

A fear that, although plausible at the beginning, given the novelty and innovation factor that seemed to limit the "electric issue" to a few, is now a sentiment that is diminishing, especially with the spread of charging stations in Italy and its major cities.

However, this does not presuppose that the electric car cannot be improved. Indeed, much is being discussed about battery autonomy and how it could be enhanced, making them more efficient and less expensive. In a growing battery market, there is also a focus on its autonomy, recognizing a "dead space" that does not convey energy.

According to electrochemist Euan McTurk of "Plug Life Consulting," the battery should be composed of 100% active material: every part of the battery pack should store energy. This currently translates into large battery sizes, which, in turn, lead to an even heavier structure to support everything.

The weight of batteries and, therefore, of cars is the most challenging aspect for a designer. Batteries usually use cell modules connected to each other and inserted into packs. "Standard modules can fit well within some packs but leave large areas of 'wasted' space in others. Wasted space equals dead weight," says Richie Frost, founder and CEO of Sprint Power, a company specializing in electric vehicle technology.

The first companies to address battery space improvement are Tesla and Chinese companies like Byd and Catl. According to Tesla, developing a type of glue that usually acts as a fire-resistant material could make the entire battery load-bearing, eliminating 370 vehicle parts. This would result in a 10% reduction in overall weight and a 7% reduction in battery cost per kilowatt-hour, leading to an increase in autonomy.

From Shenzhen, Byd is developing a cell-to-pack technology, where cells are inserted directly into the pack rather than assembled into modules first, maximizing the number of installable cells. They have also created a lithium iron phosphate (Lfp) battery with better chemical stability and cheaper production costs, albeit with lower energy density, which is expected to be compensated for by the increased number of cells that can be inserted.

Catl is the world's largest producer of batteries for electric vehicles, with a market share of 33%, and proposes cell-to-chassis technology: the battery, frame, and undercarriage of electric vehicles combine into a single structural power unit. Compacting more cells into each individual vehicle would increase autonomy. This would potentially allow reaching 1000 km of autonomy with a single charge, improving current technology estimates by 40%.

However, the study is still in the midst of its development phase, and it may take several years to have such autonomous products, although some companies believe they can at least develop cell-to-chassis technology in the near future.

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