Currently, the world is facing a major energy and environmental crisis. Fuel fuels are not sustainable and it is inevitable that we run out of them. Furthermore, they have been a great threat to the environment. So with this increased interest in sustainable and clean energy electric cars and more importantly electric vehicle batteries have become a major topic of discussion. Millions of dollars and years of research have been put into creating more efficient and long-lasting eclectic batteries.
Tesla
The company tesla was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers who hoped to speed up the move of the world towards a cleaner, more sustainable energy. The company was hoping to prove that electric automobiles can not only be as good as gasoline vehicles but even outperform the said gasoline vehicles. Tesla has introduced multiple cars which use cutting edge battery technology, that use clean energy and help in the performance of the car. Electric batteries work differently from normal gasoline batteries which give birth to both pros and cons. For example, while the electric vehicle battery uses clean energy and is great for the environment, battery life, and hence the distance that can be traveled by the said eclectic vehicle is an issue.
Tesla Battery
Electric cars use energy stored in their batteries to power their motors. When the battery starts running out of energy it can be recharged using a wall socket or designated charging unit. Tesla introduced the tesla Powerwall; this is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Tesla Powerwall was announced in 2015 and was aimed to be used for the storage of solar energy for houses.
In 2008 Tesla introduced its Roadster. The Roadster was a 4 seater sports car which used lithium-ion batteries as its energy source.
Tesla Model 3
The tesla model 3 is a 4 seater sedan. As of 2020 the tesla model 3 is now the world’s best selling electric car selling over 500,000 units. This was the company’s aim at reducing the price of the electric car and making it somewhat more affordable, and the tesla model 3 is still the least expensive car under the company.
Battery Technology
Most batteries are acid-lead based. These batteries rely on the reactions caused by acid on lead to work. The two main types of lead-acid batteries are the automobile engine starter batteries and the deep cycle batteries; the acid-lead batteries were once the most commonly used electric car batteries. This was because of its low price and easy availability.
Currently, the most common battery technology used in electric car batteries is lithium-ion. Inside, the car cell liquid electrodes carry the charged lithium-ion from the anode, through a separator, to the cathode. This process of movement between the electrical poles, anode and cathode, causes a discharge of electrical current.
Another material used in electric car batteries is nickel manganese cobalt (NMC). The nickel manganese cobalt-based batteries are more commonly seen in passenger cars. These NMC batteries also happen to have higher energy density as compared to the lithium-ion based batteries, which means that the NMC batteries have the ability to store more energy. This is the reason why people and companies are starting to prepare the NMC batteries as compared to lithium-ion batteries in terms of battery technology, even though the lithium-ion batteries are considered more stable.
One of the biggest drawbacks of the electric battery is the distance the electric car can run before the battery runs out. Companies are well aware of this shortcoming and hence have been working for the past decade or so looking for a way to extend electric vehicle battery life by a large amount. Now after years of research and prototypes, a breakthrough seems to be near.
New Generation lithium batteries; in lithium-ion batteries energy release is provided by the electrical discharge caused by the movement of lithium ions from the anode to the cathode through an electrolyte. Innovations are being made which will help in storing more lithium in both the positive and negative electrodes. These innovations are mainly in the form of different disruptive compounds that can be possibly used to store more lithium. This will allow the eclectic batteries to hold more energy densities as well as having a very long lifetime.
Solid-state batteries; lithium batteries use a liquid state electrolyte in which the ions move from one electrode to the other. Researchers hope to be able to replace this liquid electrolyte with a solid-state electrolyte. This will greatly improve the life and performance of the electric car battery. Solid-state batteries are non-flammable when heated so this also provides added safety.
With increasing concern about the state of the environment and how gasoline-based automobiles and other fossil fuel burning vehicles affect it is about time that the world starts shifting towards a cleaner and more sustainable alternative. There have been many ups and downs on the road to creating alternatives to gasoline-based cars, but now we have slowly entered the new era. These new cars, such as the tesla model 3, that use clean sustainable energy might still not be in everyone’s price range but, is a start. With the rate at research and innovation happening in the world of electric vehicles batteries it is not so distant in the future that we will start seeing much more affordable electric cars with better than ever performance and battery life begins entering the market, and hopefully, these cars become the go-to vehicle of choice rather than the alternative.
