The GreenCarWebsite reports that scientists in Germany have developed a promising new lithium ion battery which retains around 85 per cent of its original capacity after 10,000 charge cycles.
That means that the battery would still be in good, working order after 27 years, even if you charged it every day. Chances are, the car itself will have reached the end of its useable life before then.
Developed by the Zentrum f?r Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-W?rttemberg (Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-W?rttemberg-or ZSW as it is known), the new batteries could have application as car batteries for electric vehicles or as power storage for renewables such as solar energy. The new lithium ion batteries also boast excellent power density at 1,100 watts per kilogram. For an electric vehicle this figure means short charging times and an excellent acceleration capability.
"After 10,000 complete charging and discharging cycles with a complete charge and discharge cycle per hour (2 C), our lithium batteries still have more than 85 per cent of the initial capacity," reports Dr Margret Wohlfahrt-Mehrens, who lead the research. "That also provides excellent prospects for a long calendar life."
Currently carmakers require batteries for electric cars to retain at least 80 per cent after 10 years, so the new batteries achieve a much better result.
ZSW's research was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi). Further research and development work is planned, to test the technology's implementation into large cells.
