Batteries of Electric Vehicles

Abstract

Electric vehicles are steadily growing in popularity as prices tend to become lower and performance becomes more appealing throughout the years as more and more manufacturers enter the production of electric vehicles. The on-board autonomous energy storage unit of an electric vehicle, namely the battery pack, is the most important and most expensive component of the drivetrain system. Lithium – ion batteries have been the predominant choice of rechargeable batteries in almost every application and electric vehicles are no exception. They are characterized with higher specific energy, higher energy density, higher specific power, better charge/ discharge efficiency and lower self-discharge in comparison to classical lead-acid and nickel-metal batteries. Therefore, studies, researches and improvements of lithium - ion batteries, and even taking a look at prospective replacements of lithium – ion, will inevitably lead to faster and wider commercialization of electric vehicles, longer drive ranges and also faster replacement of fossil fueled vehicles. In this paper is presented a discussion about batteries of electric vehicles, charging and discharging processes of a lithium – ion battery, temperature dependence, importance of thermal control as well as a review of perspective researches and developments of potential prospective replacements of lithium – ion batteries.