Breaking down the EV battery hype.

[SpaceEVDriver]

This is a good article that breaks down where things are in battery technology for some of the most popular ideas about EV battery future.

The EV Battery Tech That’s Worth the Hype, According to Experts

Major battery breakthroughs seemingly happen every day, but only some of that tech ever leaves the lab. WIRED breaks down what’s actually going to change EVs and what’s just a dream.

www.wired.com

A breakdown:

• What’s real
  • The big deal battery breakthroughs all have something in common: They’re related to the lithium-ion battery.
    • Lithium Iron Phosphate
    • More Nickel
    • Dry Electrode Process
    • Cell-to-Pack
    • Silicon Anodes
• What’s speculative
  • Battery tech in the more speculative bucket has undergone plenty of testing. But it’s still not quite at a place where most manufacturers are building production lines and putting it into cars.
    • Sodium-Ion Batteries
    • Solid State Batteries
• What’s science-fiction-maybe-fact-someday
  • Good ideas don't always make a ton of sense in the real world.
    • Wireless Charging

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I’m not a fan of cell-to-pack. It’s another way manufacturers are lowering their costs without passing those savings on to the consumer. It’s like gigacasting: it sounds good on paper, but you never see the lower costs passed on, and insurance costs increase because too many failure modes require extremely expensive repairs.

 

[jr91392]

Good article. I'm very skeptical of wireless charging for vehicles even though it sounds great. The nature of wireless charging means it's rather inefficient. And that's not a big deal when you're charging a small cell phone battery, but with the amount you need to charge a car, there ends up being a lot of waste. It makes sense that Porsche is rolling it out as their customers assuredly care less about the added cost of inefficiency. I wonder if it's more likely for someone to make a product that automatically connects your charger for you when you roll into your garage. But maybe I'm getting old because I just don't see the problem with plugging a car in when I get out... I don't yet own an EV, so maybe I'll feel differently someday

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Good article. I'm very skeptical of wireless charging for vehicles even though it sounds great. The nature of wireless charging means it's rather inefficient. And that's not a big deal when you're charging a small cell phone battery, but with the amount you need to charge a car, there ends up being a lot of waste. It makes sense that Porsche is rolling it out as their customers assuredly care less about the added cost of inefficiency. I wonder if it's more likely for someone to make a product that automatically connects your charger for you when you roll into your garage. But maybe I'm getting old because I just don't see the problem with plugging a car in when I get out... I don't yet own an EV, so maybe I'll feel differently someday

The only use-case for wireless charging that makes sense to me is to fill in parking lots with L2 charging so you don’t have to worry about where to park, you get an hour or to of charging while doing your shopping/entertainment/whatever. But even that is something I can immediately turn around on and explain why it’s a dumb option.

Automatic connections would only make sense to me for someone with a physical inability to do the plugging themselves.

That thought corrects the one above—wireless charging also could make sense in situations where the driver/passenger is unable to physically plug in the vehicle for some reason.

 

[oldgeeksguide]

I’m not a fan of cell-to-pack. It’s another way manufacturers are lowering their costs without passing those savings on to the consumer. It’s like gigacasting: it sounds good on paper, but you never see the lower costs passed on, and insurance costs increase because too many failure modes require extremely expensive repairs.

I’m no expert, but it seems like a lot of teslas innovation are about reducing the cost manufacturing, often adding long term costs to the owner. Things like large scale casting, “structural” batteries, lotsa glue, no buttons, all make the car easier/cheaper to build, but mostly make it harder to repair. More modularity might cost more in the short run, but can add flexibility and repairability in the long run.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I’m no expert, but it seems like a lot of teslas innovation are about reducing the cost manufacturing, often adding long term costs to the owner. Things like large scale casting, “structural” batteries, lotsa glue, no buttons, all make the car easier/cheaper to build, but mostly make it harder to repair. More modularity might cost more in the short run, but can add flexibility and repairability in the long run.

I agree.