Can EV Batteries Last 20 Years?

[Doug_G]

Mikael Cugnet of the French Atomic Energy Commission said current estimates of an eight-year lithium-ion life have been based on accelerated tests that don’t necessarily provide an accurate picture of how long the batteries will really last in electric cars and hybrids. He believes that if managed properly, EV battery packs could operate reliably for 15 years, and possibly as long as 20 years.

Design News - News - Can EV Batteries Last 20 Years?

 

[Pantera Dude]

Very cool. Will help when people ask how long your $40K battery will last. :biggrin:

 

[GasDoc]

From the Article cited by the OP:

The wrong charging techniques can also shorten a battery’s life. Lithium-ion battery packs need to stay as close as possible to a 50 percent charge, he said, usually going no higher than 80 percent and no lower than 20 percent. Moreover, electric car owners should refrain from doing too many “fast charges,” in which an EV battery can be recharged in under an hour.

My daily commute is pretty short. Probably 8-20 miles a day, depending if I'm running errands after work. maybe I'll try to stay around 50% charge unless I'm planning on doing some more driving.

Get myself to 50% and used timed charging to start charging 1 hour before I go to work?

 

[PopSmith]

That's great news for Tesla since they thermally manage their batteries.

Some mileage numbers:
15 years * 12K miles = 180K miles (290K kilometers).
15 years * 15K miles = 225K miles (362K kilometers).

If the average ICE lasts 200K miles (I really don't know what the expected life is) then a properly managed current-generation EV should last about as long as an ICE.
Hopefully continued improvements in battery management and capacity will result in an EV that far exceeds any ICE's lifespan.

My daily commute is pretty short. Probably 8-20 miles a day, depending if I'm running errands after work. maybe I'll try to stay around 50% charge unless I'm planning on doing some more driving.

Get myself to 50% and used timed charging to start charging 1 hour before I go to work?

From reading around on the forums here is what I remember:
- Having cells at a lower charge means the pack overall has to work harder to maintain the same output. This increases "stress" on the batteries and shortens the lifespan. By plugging in each night you reduce the amount of "stress" on the pack which should increase its lifespan.
- Tesla has officially said "plug-in when you can" (in Standard mode).