The rise of electric vehicles (EVs) has marked a turning point in the fight against pollution and global warming. However, one of the main obstacles to their mass adoption remains the limited lifespan of their batteries. They wear out over time, losing their energy storage capacity and thus reducing the autonomy of vehicles. However, a technological advance could well revolutionize this field: batteries with monocrystalline electrodes. A recent study has highlighted their potential to last much longer than current batteries, which could transform the electric vehicle industry and beyond.
Why don’t current batteries last long enough?
Battery life is a key factor in the adoption of electric vehicles. Over the years, traditional lithium-ion batteries slowly degrade, reducing their ability to store energy. This degradation results from a natural phenomenon. At each charge and discharge cycle, microfissures are in fact formed inside the electrodes. These cracks result from the movement of lithium ions as they move through the electrodes to store and release energy. These small cracks gradually affect the capacity of the battery until it loses a significant portion of its capacity.
In the case of batteries used in electric vehicles, this wear reduces the range of the car, which may only travel half of the initially possible distance. Drivers must then replace the battery after a few years of use. Today, the average battery life in EVs is approximately 322,000 kilometers (or approximately three to five years of use for an average driver). However, these replacements represent a high cost, not to mention the environmental effects linked to the production and recycling of these batteries.
Monocrystalline electrode batteries: a promising advance for electric vehicles
To address these limitations, researchers have developed a new battery technology which uses monocrystalline electrodes. Unlike traditional polycrystalline electrodes made from many small crystal particles, monocrystalline electrodes are made from a single solid crystal. This structure allows for much higher resistance to mechanical stress, thereby reducing the formation of cracks inside the battery over charge and discharge cycles.
The study carried out by researchers at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, in collaboration with Tesla, showed that a lithium-ion battery equipped with monocrystalline electrodes could maintain up to 80% of its original capacity After 20 000 cycles charging and discharging, the equivalent of six years of continued use. Comparatively, a traditional battery would lose around 20 to 30% of its capacity over a few years. This monocrystalline electrode battery has shown impressive durability, with a lifespan equivalent to eight million kilometerswhich is eight times higher to that of current batteries used in electric vehicles.
A radical change for the automotive industry
The potential of this technology is enormous for the electric vehicle industry. Indeed, a battery capable of lasting eight million kilometers could theoretically last the life of a vehicle. This means that instead of having to replace the battery every few years, drivers could benefit from a battery that loses its charging capacity less quickly. This would result in significant long-term savings for EV owners while reducing battery production and recycling.
In addition, such longevity would limit the environmental impact of batteries. By extending their lifespan, the electric vehicle industry could reduce demand for raw materials while reducing waste associated with frequent battery replacement. This development could also favor the integration of electric vehicles in the global automobile fleet, a booming sector that fights against greenhouse gas emissions.
Applications beyond electric vehicles
The benefits of monocrystalline electrode batteries are not limited to electric vehicles. These batteries could also revolutionize energy storage on a large scale. One of the big challenges of renewable energies, such as solar and wind, is that they are intermittent. This means that they produce energy depending on climatic conditions, but are not always available when energy demand is high.
If monocrystalline electrode batteries can indeed last longer, they could be used in energy storage systems on a large scale. For example, durable and reliable batteries could store excess energy produced by solar panels or wind turbines for use when energy production is lower. This would allow more stable management of electricity networks and contribute to the energy transition by allowing more efficient storage of renewable energies.
