EV battery life expectancy could be 40% higher than previous estimates

• A new study undertaken by scientists at the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center suggests that EV batteries could last up to 40% longer in real world conditions over the lifetime of the battery, compared to battery life estimations previously calculated under strict lab conditions.
• The research finds that driving characteristics such as short and sharp acceleration, longer rest periods without using the EV, and regenerative braking, all help push battery health beyond levels previously estimated.
• If further proven, the statistic could prove a useful tool to encourage mass EV adoption, adding on to existing and promising EV battery life research.

Stanford research shows EVs could last even longer than previously thought

The research journal, which can be read in full here, examined multiple discharge types on a battery – a constant discharge speed, as often used in labs, alongside dynamic discharging based on real world driving data. These discharge types were tested on 92 different lithium-ion battery packs, across a two year period.

The research went against one strongly held belief amongst battery researchers: that heavy sudden usage of the battery, such as a sudden and hard acceleration, would speed up aging of the battery. Instead, this study found a correlation between ‘sharp and short’ EV accelerations and slower battery degradation. So, the occasional piece of harsh acceleration might not do any good for your range, but over the life of the EV, it could bring benefits.

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Simona Onori, Associate Professor of Energy Science and Engineering at Stanford University, added:

“Real driving with frequent acceleration, braking that charges the batteries a bit, stopping to pop into a store, and letting the batteries rest for hours at a time, helps batteries last longer than we had thought.”

The research team also further explored the two ways that EV batteries can age. Charge and discharge cycles are just one factor, with battery ageing also occuring whether in use or not. The team added that cycle ageing was a more relevant figure when assessing health of commercial EVs which are in constant use, but for the consumer EVs which may spend more prolonged periods parked up and out of use, battery age becomes the main cause of degradation, rather than cycles.