Electric vehicles can charge 500% faster in cold weather for a new manufacturing process, explaining research.
In a new study published on 17 March in the journal JaulScientists described how they can reduce lithium-ion battery charging rates in temperature as 14 ° F (minus 10 ° C), which by changing the structural design of the battery and changing the chemical reactions during charging.
Researchers were able to achieve excessive rapid charging at low temperatures, without renouncing the energy density of the lithium-ion battery, ” Neil DasguptaStudy Writer and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science -At the University, said in the University statement,
Cold temperatures limit charging rates and reduce overall energy efficiency due to chemical processes in sports during charging.
The battery works by transferring lithium ions between two electrode plates within a liquid electrolyte solution. This process is efficient in warm temperatures, but in cold conditions, the electrolyte fluid is thick, reduces electric current and thus expands the charging time.
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This is an issue. Manufacturers have addressed in many ways, including increasing the thickness of electrodes used in battery cells or modifying the structure of the battery. But these stages have further increased the problem. A 2023 study on lithium-ion battery efficiency shows changes in the composition of electrolytes Inhibited fast-charging capabilitiesFor example.
Researchers create new ‘routes’ for ions
One in previous study Published in 2020, researchers created that they described as new “path” in the anode – electrodes that receive lithium ions during charging and send electrons to the cathode at the opposite end.
To create these routes, researchers used lasers to strike holes in the graphite layers of the anode, which enabled lithium ions to move faster, in turn they can embed themselves more quickly within the electrode.
This earlier project did charging bar, but in the condition of cold weather, it created lithium on the anode. This “plating”, prevents the electrode from reacting with the electrolyte fluid.
“This offer prevents the entire electrode from charging, by reducing the energy capacity of the battery once again,” study the co-writer Manoj JangidFellow, a senior research from the University of Michigan, told Live Science.
To prevent this layer from creating this layer, in the new study he coated the battery with 20 nanometers made of lithium borat-carbonate. Last research in solid-state battery showed that this material Ion distribution efficiency improved,
In this example, the coating, with the pathway technology jointly increased by 500% in charging efficiency in sub-zero temperature, the researchers said. The amended battery using these techniques also retained 97% of its capacity, even when the sub-power has been charged up to 100 times.
While the study was limited to the scope, Dasgupta stated that changes are easy to apply at manufacturing level and may be wide implications.
Dasgupta said, “We imagine the approach that EV battery manufacturers can adopt without major changes in existing factories.”
