Browse Topic: Battery cell chemistry
Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft are poised to transform urban and regional mobility by offering zero-emission, congestion-free transportation. As regulatory frameworks evolve and advanced air mobility (AAM) gains traction, manufacturers are exploring propulsion strategies that improve range, power delivery, and overall system efficiency. A key challenge in eVTOL development is balancing range with payload capacity. While larger battery packs can extend range, they also increase system weight, reduce payload, and prolong charging times, limiting operational flexibility and turnaround time. Hydrogen fuel cells, supported by liquid hydrogen (LH₂) present a promising alternative for eVTOL propulsion. This study proposes a methodology for optimizing fuel cell propulsion systems tailored to eVTOL applications. A multi-physics modeling framework for eVTOL flight dynamics and propulsion system was developed, representing the target eVTOL configuration. For a defined flight path including vertical takeoff, hover, cruise, and landing, a Genetic Algorithm (GA) based optimization was conducted on propulsion system. The algorithm down-selected battery size, fuel cell stack specifications, and hydrogen tank capacity to meet mission requirements while minimizing propulsion system weight. The modeling framework was also used to evaluate trade-offs between payload and performance as functions of component sizing, battery chemistry and energy distribution strategy.
This paper carried out the fire failure analysis of valve-regulated lead-acid battery in communication equipment room. Through disassembly and observation of the battery and iron frame of battery cabinet in the area of fire origin, we obtained the key residual traces and used the physical and chemical analysis methods such as macroscopic/microscopic morphology, EDS, X-ray and metallographic, it was finally judged that the leakage of the battery electrolyte lead to the connection of the battery electrode plate and the iron frame and subsequently the electric heating fault caused the fire accident. Furthermore, we put forward some suggestions according to the existing problems, which may contribute to the prevention of similar failures.
A panel of four battery testing experts from different fields agreed that large scale fire testing, as called for in a proposed update to testing standard UL 9540A, could help address confusion among consumers, battery companies and insurers. Moderated by LaTanya Schwalb, principal engineer for energy and industrial automation at UL Solutions, the panel discussion held at the Battery Show North America underscored the need for a current standard and for standards to adapt more quickly to new battery chemistries and technologies.
Conventional solid polymer electrolyte batteries perform poorly due to structural limitations that hinder an optimal electrode contact. This could not eliminate the issue of “dendrites”, where lithium grows in tree-like structures during repeated charging and discharging cycles. Dendrites are a critical issue, as an irregular lithium growth can disrupt battery connections, potentially causing fires and explosions.
While Daimler Truck and Paccar are pursuing LFP battery cells, Volvo Trucks employs lithium-ion batteries in which lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) is used as the cathode — for now anyway. The Swedish truck maker is continuously exploring other battery technologies.
While Daimler Truck, Paccar and Accelera by Cummins are pursuing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells with technology partner EVE Energy (www.sae.org/news/2023/09/lfp-battery-cell-production-for-electric-commercial-vehicles), Volvo Trucks employs lithium-ion batteries in which lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) is used as the cathode - for now anyway. The Swedish truck maker is continuously exploring other battery technologies. “If you look back at least three years, maybe five years, LFP was not really on the map. There has come some new evolvement on LFP which would make it better in many ways, [improved] things that were problematic with it before. It might very well be a solution in the future,” Peter Granqvist, senior vice president of Volvo Group Electromobility Technology, said at a media event at the company's headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, in late 2023. “Right now, we are not on that path, but I'm not excluding anything.” Granqvist said it's possible multiple chemistries will prevail, based on the benefits being prioritized and the needs of the specific vehicle application.
There is an urgent need to decarbonize various industry sectors, including transportation; however, this is difficult to achieve when relying solely on today’s lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology. A lack of sufficient supply of critical materials—including lithium, nickel, and cobalt—is a major driving force behind the research, development, and commercialization of new battery chemistries that can support this energy transition. Many emerging chemistries do not face the same supply, safety, and often durability challenges associated with Li-ion technology, yet these solutions are still very immature and require significant development effort to be commercialized. This chapter identifies and evaluates various emerging battery chemistries suitable for deployment in the automotive industry and describes the advantages, disadvantages, and development challenges for each identified technology. Additionally, the chapter outlines development timelines, contending that, to benefit from these new technologies in a decade or so, commercialization needs to begin today. That includes de-risking critical material supply chains and developing circular approaches. Finally, the chapter proposes policy interventions to enable the development of these new solutions and to allow those immature technologies to compete with well-established Li-ion batteries.
This study addresses safety concerns within the rapidly evolving Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft domain, focusing on efficient tools to quantify uncertainties in lithium-ion battery behavior - a critical aspect of eVTOL. One major issue with quantifying uncertainty is the prohibitive computational cost associated with many queries of an expensive-to-evaluate computational model. This work employs three physics-based battery models models of varying fidelity and cost to estimate the mean and the variance of the selected quantities of interest through a multifidelity method to reduce the computation cost. By combining information from multiple cheaper, lower-fidelity models through the Multifidelity Monte Carlo method, we significantly reduce the number of high-fidelity samples required for a prescribed mean-squared error, consequently reducing computational costs down to a tractable level. The proposed methodology is applied to estimate the mean and the variance of the battery temperature and voltage, accounting for uncertainties in flight conditions and materials. The first example focuses on a 580-second flight and is benchmarked against a standard Monte Carlo sampling technique. Results indicate a notable fourfold speed-up using the Multifidelity Monte Carlo method compared to the standard Monte Carlo method for the same mean-squared error for the voltage estimate. To showcase the method's generality, the multifidelity method is then applied to a longer flight of 3580 seconds for estimating the mean and the variance and utilizing these statistics to approximately estimate the probability of the flight completion. This demonstrates the adaptability of the methodology to various power profiles and considered uncertainties, with potential extensions to any battery chemistry. In conclusion, the presented multifidelity method offers a robust approach to enhance eVTOL safety by efficiently estimating uncertainties in battery behavior.
As companies continue to trumpet their next-gen EV battery tech, it seems like new chemistries face more momentum from the established champ, lithium-ion. There's no shortage of alternatives to lithium-ion EV batteries in development. From lithium-iron phosphate to sodium-ion to multiple solid-state chemistries, companies are racing to perfect these technologies and figure out how to manufacture them at scale. But to an outside observer, it can feel like breathless coverage of future battery technology is much ado about not much. Lithium-ion batteries seem to have all the momentum, seeing as they're the power supply of choice for most EV manufacturers. And if there's anything that's true in the automotive industry, it's how hard it is to buck momentum. Here are just a few of the big issues lithium-ion batteries have in their favor: Already built factories that manufacture batteries and face tremendous costs to retool for a different technology. An economy of scale that has driven down the cost per kilowatthour from $732 in 2013 to $139 in 2023. The vehicle development curve can be seven or more years before hitting production. That means betting on a technology and a mining and manufacturing ecosystem that hasn't been fully tested. Some companies are slowing EV launches and reconsidering investment in new technologies given the recent slowdown in the growth of EV sales.
Lithium-ion batteries are the ubiquitous energy storage device of choice in portable electronics and more recently, in electric vehicles. However, there are numerous lithium-ion battery chemistries and in particular, several cathode materials that have been commercialized over the last two decades. In recent time several automakers have followed trend by announcing their own plans to move their EV production to LFP, due to its high intrinsic safety, fast charging, and long cycle life and cobalt free batteries as well as avoiding other supply chain constrained metals like nickel. Accurate estimation of the state-of-charge (SOC) is crucial for efficient and safe battery applications. However, existing SOC estimation methods (coulomb count, SOC-OCV methods) fail to provide accurate SOC estimation for LFP batteries that have a flat voltage-SOC relationship, and these present model-based methods can be ascribed to their inability to simultaneously accommodate the differences in voltage characteristics between different open-circuit-voltage (OCV) ranges. To address this limitation, offline three RC equivalent circuit model is used to identify OCV and other battery model parameters. Then, the parameters of the extended Kalman filter are adaptively estimated according to the innovation residual error and updated in different OCV ranges, which are distinguished based on the identified OCV. While conventional methods fail to converge, the proposed method ensures both high accuracy and stability, with a maximum absolute error of < 3%. The viability of the proposed method is further verified using data collected from real battery systems.
This paper proposes a novel reconfigurable battery balancing topology and reinforcement learning-based intelligent balancing management system. The different degradations cause a significant loss of battery pack available capacity, as the pack power output relies on the weakest cell due to the relevant physical requirements. To handle this capacity drop issue, a reconfigurable battery topology is adopted to improve the usability of the heterogeneous battery. There are some existing battery reconfigurable topologies in the literature. However, these studies rely on the limited options of topology designs, and there is a lack of study on the reconfigurability of these designs and other possible new designs. Also, it is rare to find an optimal management system for the reconfigurable battery topology. To fill these research gaps, this paper explores existing battery reconfigurable topology designs and proposes a new reconfigurable topology for battery balancing. Besides, the battery reconfigurability problem is modeled as an optimization problem, and the balancing time and total power output are modeled as objective functions. Then, a reinforcement learning-based intelligent management system is proposed to identify the best battery topology for minimizing equalization time and battery degradation for heterogeneously degraded batteries. The simulation results show that the proposed method can effectively balance the inhomogeneous battery cell and alleviate battery degradation.
There's a mild irony in a battery company called ONE that believes the way to increase electric vehicle adoption actually relies on two. Two battery chemistries in one pack, that is, according to ONE founder and CEO Mujeeb Ijaz. We spoke with Ijaz about ONE's dual-chemistry pack in early 2022, but the company recently shared more details on how it plans to make EVs with a 600-mile range feasible in the coming years. Our Next Energy is working on two new battery types (the Aries and Gemini series), both of which start with a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry. The whiz-bang, 600-mile (966-km), dual-chemistry Gemini pack isn't due to go into production until 2025 or 2026, but ONE is currently testing its Aries II pack. The Aries II is a structural cell-to-pack singlechemistry battery based on the Aries I battery now available for class 3-6 commercial trucks, buses and utilities or in the Aries Grid energy storage system. ONE is working with partners Bollinger Motors, Motiv and the Shyft Group on the Aries I battery for commercial trucks. ONE also claims that the Aries II can offer up to 350 miles (563 km) of range in a passenger car without needing pricey nickel or cobalt.
Mid-September of 2023 brought a United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against each of the Detroit Three automakers. Apart from the face-value issues of a strike, the UAW's extraordinary choice to hit all three automakers - at an unusually unsettled inflection point in the industry's technology progression - may have generational implications. By some accounts, there are more than a few untied shoelaces tangling the industry's march toward electrification. The cost of EVs (their batteries, specifically) is emerging as a persistent impediment to mainstream adoption in the U.S. and Europe. The situation is magnified by post-pandemic inflation that's pressuring consumers and hiking the cost of EV-related materials; battery prices aren't declining and manufacturers and battery developers are scrambling for options - less-expensive but lower-performing lithium-iron phosphate battery chemistry is emerging as one immediate alternative.
NMC and LFP lithium-ion batteries find favor in different regions as OEMs move to electrify larger excavators and loaders. The success of electric vehicles in the construction industry will largely be determined by battery prices being low enough that the total cost of ownership is cheaper than diesel alternatives. IDTechEx's new report, “Electric Vehicles in Construction 2023-2043,” shows that there is a battery price tipping point, under which it will be cheaper over the vehicle lifetime to operate an EV. Selecting the right chemistry will be imperative for getting a low enough vehicle price. So why is a clear dichotomy seen between the batteries being deployed in China compared to Europe? Electric vehicles in construction are an emerging market. IDTechEx has built a database of more than 100 example makes and models across seven different construction-vehicle categories: mini excavators, excavators (>6 tonne), compact loaders, backhoe loaders, wheel loaders, telehandlers and mobile cranes. However, with lots of vehicles yet to be released, only 49 database entries have confirmed chemistry information.
Many owners of electric vehicles worry about how effective their battery will be in very cold weather. Now a new battery chemistry may have solved that problem.
ABSTRACT Cornerstone Research Group (CRG) developed a lithium metal (Li-metal) battery cell for military applications. Utilizing a Li-metal anode, high energy density cathode, and an advanced low-temperature fluorinated electrolyte, the cell was designed and developed to provide high-power and low temperature capabilities. The 1.5 Ah Li-metal pouch cell had a specific energy of 247 Wh/kg and was able to discharge at ultra-low temperatures (-57 °C). Moreover, the Li-metal cell demonstrated extremely high-power by fully discharging at 10 C while maintaining over 70% its initial capacity. To demonstrate the Li-metal cell’s utility for military vehicle use, CRG modeled the cell into the 6T battery platform. A novel module housing was designed to evenly apply compression to the Li-metal cells to improve cell performance. Based on these projections, the Li-metal 6T battery could have a capacity of 163 Ah with a specific energy of 179 Wh/kg. Citation: J. Hondred, F. Zalar, P. Nikolaev, B. Henslee, “High Power Li-Metal Battery Cell for Military Applications,” In Proceedings of the Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium (GVSETS), NDIA, Novi, MI, Aug. 15-17, 2023.
As the industry quickly shifts its focus from ICE to BEVs, there is a prime opportunity to rethink the basics of the vehicle/propulsion development, manufacturing, procurement and the customer-facing go-to market strategy. OEMs and suppliers are using the electrification shift to evaluate all aspects of their enterprises. As the ICE propulsion system dominated our industry structure for the past 120 years, we became accustomed to a slow-but-steady speed of ICE technology change and innovations. As virtually every traditional OEM - and scores of startups - focus on electrified propulsion, the speed of innovation and required flexibility will be a blur compared to the last couple of decades. It will be standard practice for all entities to use this transition as a level-setting event - to essentially rethink the enterprise. As such, industry players will need to innovate at a swifter pace and need to adopt partnerships to fill gaps and defray risk, while ensuring any investment has flexibility at its core.
By the end of 2023 there will be 10 Chinese electric passenger vehicles using advanced semi-solid-state batteries (ASSB) - an industry-first application for EVs and a milestone for vehicle electrification, according to Paul Haelterman, North American VP at Autodatas, a vehicle benchmarking and research firm. It's “a huge step for the industry's production pursuit of all-solid-state batteries,” Haelterman told SAE Media ahead of his presentation on China's EV market at SAE's WCX 2023 conference in Detroit. A semi-solid-state battery can be one in which one electrode does not contain a liquid electrolyte and the other electrode does. Or it can be a battery in which the mass or volume of the solid electrolyte in the monomer accounts for half of the total mass or volume of the electrolyte in the monomer. Some battery experts view semi-solid-state as a compromise technology, offering a faster route to scale, but is heavy and requires more volume.
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