The Hidden Challenges Within the Electric Vehicle Batteries Faced by Automotive Industry
Most commercial as well as passenger vehicles have relied heavily upon using fossil fuels to operate for decades. Fossil fuels such as petrol, coal, diesel etc. have such high consumption that today they are on the verge of extinction.
Additionally, the ecological damage done by these fossil fuels has been a paramount concern for our biodiversity.
However, the advancements in the technology are rapidly transforming all industry sector including the automotive industry.
The use of electric powered vehicles has emerged as a solution to the existing challenges (as discussed earlier in the article) in the automotive industry.
An electric vehicle (EV) is one which operated mainly on a motor powered by battery instead of an internal-combustion engine which operates by burning gases and fuels.
EV is seen as a potential alternative for current-generation vehicle, to address rising issues such as global warming, pollution, reducing natural resources, etc.
However as of now the electric vehicle segment is facing some challenges which are been taken care of and electric vehicle batteries are among one of them.
Electric Vehicle Battery – Overview
Electric vehicle (EV) is powered with the help of a lithium-ion battery or a nickel-metal battery pack.
At the basic level of EV, the battery unit consists of hundreds of cells put together for making one big unit of battery that is fitted in the electric vehicle chassis.
The unit to measure the capacity of the battery energy is known as kilowatt-hours (kWh). This unit acts as the way of finding the fuel tank capacity in the internal combustion engine (ICE)car.
So, the bigger the battery capacity, the higher the power it generates, and the longer-range one can achieve from the electric vehicle.
As per the recent market study of BIS Research, the global structural adhesives, sealants, and thermal materials market for EV batteries is supposed to touch $305.5 million by 2031 from $53.1 million in 2021 with a CAGR of 18.5% during the period of 2022-2031.
The market is supposed to witness such high growth because of the extreme adoption of electric vehicles and the rising demand for light weight vehicles.
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Challenges in the Batteries of Electric Vehicles
The driving capacity is the key concern for the consumers using electric vehicles, and it’s determined mainly by the battery capacity. As weight and space are limited in electric vehicles, the size of the battery used for EV gets limited.
This further limit the distance range for the electric vehicles. Here are few more common challenges faced by EV batteries:
- Cost
As the cost of the battery determine the price of electric vehicles which needs to be reduced for making EV’s more affordable.
The battery component is one of the factors that decide the value of the electric vehicle. So in order to increase the power of the electric vehicle, a high power battery component is required which further increases the overall cost of the electric vehicles.
The value of battery packs is complex, consisting of several components of manufactures, module production, pack assembly, and cell production.
- Lifespan
EV batteries are not serviceable, and the life span of these batteries is supposed to be like the life spam of vehicle life.
In case of any faults in the EVs battery system the battery pack needs reassembling the complete module which is an expensive process.
- Safety
Safety is the most crucial element in the designing of any automotive and the same applies to the EVs.
Due to safety reasons several countries have set regulations for the use of EV batteries in electric vehicles which manufacturers need to comply with before putting them in use.
The failure of the battery can take place due to several reasons such as over-charging, thermal ramp, penetration, and internal mechanisms.
Conclusion
Electric vehicles still need to overcome some challenges for the wider adoption of EV battery technologies and increasing EV sales in the coming years. With the advancements in EV batteries, several problems can be solved such as environmental issues, reducing costs, and improving the overall execution of the batteries.
