Electric Vehicles Batteries: Requirements and Challenges

Future material demand for automotive lithium-based batteries

“…lectric vehicles (EVs) generally have a reduced climate impact compared to internal combustion engine vehicles 1 . Together with technological progress and governmental subsidies, this advantage led to a massive increase in the demand for EVs 2 . The global fleet of light-duty EVs grew from a few thousand just a decade ago to 7.5 million vehicles in 2019 3 .…”

“…Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the dominant technology for EVs 2 . Typical automotive LIBs contain lithium (Li), cobalt (Co), and nickel (Ni) in the cathode, graphite in the anode, as well as aluminum and copper in other cell and pack components.…”

“…Typical automotive LIBs contain lithium (Li), cobalt (Co), and nickel (Ni) in the cathode, graphite in the anode, as well as aluminum and copper in other cell and pack components. Commonly used LIB cathode chemistries are lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM), lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA), or lithium iron phosphate (LFP), although battery technology is currently evolving fast and new and improved chemistries can be expected in the future 2,4 .…”

“…In the Li-S/Air scenario, we consider the possibility of breakthroughs in Li-metal solid state battery chemistries, specifically, Li-S and Li-Air batteries, which are seen as potential successors of LIBs 23,24 . Although Li-S and Li-Air batteries are still in early development and considerable challenges remain to be solved before commercialization, e.g., low cycle life and safety issues 2,4 , Li-S batteries could reach two times and Li-Air batteries up to three times the specific energy of current LIBs, which would likely lead to cost reductions and improved EV ranges 23 . Although it is highly uncertain if and when such batteries could reach market readiness, we assume that Li-S and Li-Air batteries (with specific energies of 308 and 383 Wh/kg, respectively, at pack level for typical mid-size BEVs and lifespans equal to NCM batteries) enter the market in 2030 25 and reach a market share of 60% by 2040, while the rest of the market follows the trends in the NCX scenario.…”

Regulating Interfacial Chemistry in Lithium‐Ion Batteries by a Weakly Solvating Electrolyte**

“…[1][2][3] The increasing demands of electric vehicles and grid energy storage is gradually pushing the performance of LIBs to their limits, including high energy density, fast charging, high safety, long life and low cost. [4][5][6][7][8] To meet these high bars, current LIBs must venture into more challenging territories such as Li/Si anodes, [9][10][11] high-voltage/capacity cathodes, [12][13][14] and aqueous LIBs. [15][16][17] Eventually, the challenges for these aggressive battery chemistries are partially or completely passed on to designing advanced electrolytes.…”