Electric Dreams or Range Nightmares? The Truth About Batteries
Image Credit: Unsplash.
Right, sit down and pay attention because I'm about to drop some knowledge bombs on the electric car scene. And it'll be a wild ride for some. You think you're slick, buying that "long-range" electric chariot? Well, you might wanna pump the brakes a bit because you're probably getting hoodwinked. And not for the reasons you expect.
How? It is so simple; it's a bait and switch pulled by every single automaker out there. You see these electric chariots rolling down the street, all sleek and silent, promising the world? Don't believe the hype. Especially when they start throwing around terms like "long-range." It's literally like those diet products that promise you'll look like a supermodel after a week of eating lettuce. You know it's a load of codswallop, but you still get sucked in. The auto manufacturers dangle the impressive numbers in front of you, claiming you can drive halfway across the country on a single charge. But what they conveniently forget to mention is the fine print, the little caveat that turns those dreams into nightmares.
And it has nothing to do with the way you drive. Nobody in their right mind expects to achieve the numbers quoted by WLTP or even EPA. Although it does happen on a rare occasion. But you know very well that every day is different, even if you drive the same exact route at the same speed. The temperature might be different, the wind blows in your face, heck - rain and snow cut the range down quite a bit. And yes, gasoline cars are no different. But you know that already - so what's the problem?
Courtesy of @BooDev
The trick is in a very complicated relationship between battery usable capacity, recommended patterns of charging, and the advertised range. Take those fancy NMC batteries, for instance. Nickel Manganese Cobalt – sounds impressive, doesn't it? But these batteries, they're prima donnas. They demand to be treated like royalty, living in this tiny little window between 20% and 80% charge. Stumble outside that, and they throw a hissy fit, sulking and losing their precious capacity. That "long-range" electric car you just shelled out a small fortune for? Yeah, you're not getting any more than 60% of what they promised. And that's before you even start driving it. That's like buying a gallon of milk and finding out half of it's just water. Rip off in a bright daylight.
The unsung heroes turn out to be the LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries. They don't play games. You can juice them up from 10% to 100%, and they'll give you nearly all their promised range. A Tesla Model 3 Standard Range, with its 272-mile EPA range, will happily chug along for 245 miles. A Tesla Model 3 Long Range, with its fancy 78 kWh NMC battery pack, claims to go for 550 miles, according to EPA. But since you're not supposed to charge the battery over 80%, and you shouldn't deplete it below 20%, that mileage drops down to 330 miles. Just like that - 220 miles less if you want to keep your battery happy. And only 58 miles more than the $10,000-cheaper Standard Range model.
I don't want this to be about Tesla; that's not my point. NMC batteries are great for delivering a lot of power, but the LFP ones are catching up quickly. The "Long Range" only works if you use your battery's full capacity, making it last quite a bit shorter than you'd like. But that's only important if you intend to keep your EV for many years. It's a bit of a catch twenty-two this one. Switch and bait.
Image Credit: Farasis Energy.
With that out of the way, and just when you thought the electric car world was all doom and gloom, along comes Farasis Energy from China, waving a magic wand. They've cooked up some battery tech that'll make your head spin. We're talking about charging from 10% to 80% in just over eight and a half minutes! Eight. That half is just for the nerds. And it's not some theoretical lab number but an actual real-world test result.
Imagine pulling into a charging station, grabbing a cup of joe, talking to some strangers, and before you jump from the weather chat to politics - your car's ready to roll! This isn't just a step forward; it's a giant leap.
How'd they do it? They focused on keeping the batteries cool. You see, fast charging generates a lot of heat, and if you don't manage it, you'll overheat your batteries. Hot batteries don't charge fast at all. Farasis developed a "super pouch solution" that quadruples the heat dissipation area for their 5C ternary batteries and nearly quintuples it for their 6C LFP batteries. They also built a fancy new simulation model that lets them test designs in 10 seconds, instead of the usual 8 to 10 hours.
Sure, Farasis is a small player right now, but their tech is a glimpse into the future. We've gone from charging for hours to charging in minutes. And with this new tech, we're tantalizingly close to making electric cars as convenient as their gas-guzzling cousins. The question now is how quickly we can see this tech in our cars. I bet it's not next week.
Here's some consumer advice: next time you see a "long-range" EV, remember my words. Do your homework, and don't get fooled by the marketing hype. And keep an eye on Farasis Energy. They might just be the ones to finally crack the code.
