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Electric Car Batteries:All About the Electric Vehicle Battery - Questions and Answers.Understanding the world of Electric Car Batteries is key to understanding the near future of the Electric Car and other electric vehicles. There is a big race at the moment for manufacturers to grab the biggest share of the electric car batteries market. And this race is mostly about improving the Lithium Ion battery - getting it fit for the particular demands of mainstream transport. Most commentators would say that, at the moment, it's the battery technology that's holding back electric powered cars so they are a huge part of making all-electric vehicles a success story. Even the best batteries at the moment are relatively expensive and heavy as they try to match the range and performance of the internal combustion engine. What's the best battery type? 
Lithium-ion (Li-ion) is the best by far at the moment.
They have the greatest amount of energy storage and so are lighter than the other types and help to achieve the get you the best range.
They also have the least self-discharge of all the types which basically means they lose little energy while not in use.
They have only been used commercially since the 1990's - which means we are less experienced with these btypes compared to the other electric car
battery types though - but this also means
there is a lot of room left to improving their performance.
Nickel metal hydride (NiMH)
are usually the second choice for all-electric car manufacturers.
They're used in most hybrid cars as they are much cheaper than Li-ion.
They can also store high amounts of energy but not as much as the Li-ion batteries.
They also can be easily recycled and don't use any toxic materials.
Lead-acid batteries have been used since the 1800's.
They are the batteries you see in forklifts, ride-on lawnmowers or golf carts.
They are very cheap - mostly because they have been in use for so long and they are well developed and understood.
They would be the last choice for car manufacturers as they are much heavier than the other 2 types in proportion
to the amount of energy they can store.
You would see them in a lot of the earlier electric cars.
Do Electric Car Batteries need to be replaced? All batteries need to be replaced sometime - but with li-ion batteries in the Tesla electric car, for example, they claim they won't need to be replaced for over 5 years or over 100,000 miles. But during this time the capacity of the batteries slowly goes down Leading to lower range.
Are Electric Car Batteries Expensive?
Have a Look at my Other "How Electric Vehicles Work" ArticlesElectric Car Motors Find out about what's replacing the engine in the cars of the future! Electric Cars Available Now Find out which Electric Cars are actually available now - or in the near future. Electric Car Conversion In the past, this was the way most people created an Electric Car. Electric Car Design How is the Electric Car Designed? What makes it different from a standard ICE-powered vehicle? Frequently-asked Questions Some of the questions - and answers - many of us have when considering an electric car for the first time Back from Electric Car Batteries to How Electric Cars Work Back from Electric Car Batteries to All Electric Vehicles Homepage. |
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