Impact of Fast Charging on Life of EV Batteries; NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
Installation of fast charging infrastructure is considered by many as one of potential solutions to increase the utility and range of electric vehicles (EVs). This is expected to reduce the range anxiety of drivers of EVs and thus increase their market penetration. Level 1 and 2 charging in homes and workplaces is expected to contribute to the majority of miles driven by EVs. However, a small percentage of urban driving and most of inter-city driving could be only achieved by a fast-charging network. DC fast charging at 50 kW, 100 kW, 120 kW compared to level 1 (3.3 kW) and level 2 (6.6 kW) results in high-current charging that can adversely impact the life of the battery. In the last couple of years, we have investigated the impact of higher current rates in batteries and potential of higher temperatures and thus lower service life. Using mathematical models, we investigated the temperature increase of batteries due to higher heat generation during fast charge and have found that this could lead to higher temperatures. We compared our models with data from other national laboratories both for fine-tuning and calibration. We found that the incremental temperature rise of batteries during 1C to 3C fast charging may reduce the practical life of the batteries by less than 10% over 10 to 15 years of vehicle ownership. We also found that thermal management of batteries is needed for fast charging to prevent high temperature excursions leading to unsafe conditions.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 1215124
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/PR-5400-63700
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 28th International Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition, 3-6 May 2015, Goyang, Korea
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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