The Heyday of Battery Powered Cars

Historians still don’t agree on which inventor created the first electric-powered car, or which country deserves credit for being the first to take to the roadways. Nonetheless, the vehicles produced in the last half of the 19th century were little more than electrified wagons. In 1890, an American chemist from Des Moines help spark interest in horseless carriages with the debut of his electric car. Previously, self-propelled vehicles had been equipped with steam engines that had been used for decades to power trains and industrial plants. Although the steam engines of the day were very powerful, they did not prove to be a practical for use on smaller, personal vehicles. Early gasoline-powered trucks and cars were starting to show up on the streets, but they were noisy, smelly, and much more difficult to drive.

During the early part of the twentieth century, people who lived in urban areas had access to electricity making it even easier to charge an electric vehicle for short trips around town. Since most roads outside the city limits were poorly maintained, few people considered taking long road trips. So, this early form of plug-and-play transportation satisfied most consumer’s needs. Around the same time in Europe, the founder of Porsche sports cars, announced his company had created the world’s first hybrid electric car that was powered by both electricity and fossil fuel. In America, Thomas Edison was already working on building a better battery to power a low-cost electric car.

So, with battery-powered cars at their heyday, what went wrong?

Affordable Solutions Using Fossil Fuel

A young Dearborn sawmill operator named Henry Ford was hired by the Edison Illuminating Company as an engineer. In his off hours, Ford spent endless hours building his first gasoline-powered horseless carriage called the Quadricycle. While Ford Motor Company was creating a more efficient assembly line, new sources of crude oil discovered in Texas were making gasoline more affordable. When the mass-produced Model-T reached the marketplace, it sold for about a third of what the consumer had to pay for an electric-powered roadster. Suddenly, cheap fuel and an affordable vehicle changed the rules of the game and the demand for alternative-powered vehicles diminished. With an abundance of gasoline, there was little interest in improving the efficiency of the combustion engine powered cars and trucks.

It would take the Arab oil embargo in 1973 to send oil prices soaring and drivers waiting at the pump due to gasoline shortages to rekindle the public’s interest in battery-powered vehicles. Around the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency would host the EPA’s first Symposium on Low Pollution Power Systems Development. Our nation’s lack of foresight and an over-dependence on fossil fuel sent automakers scrambling back to the drawing boards. Unfortunately, except for NASA’s lunar rover becoming the fastest electric vehicle (11.2 mph) on the moon, electric cars during the 1970s had very limited range of about 40 miles, spent long hours on the charger, and offered a top speed that couldn’t break the speed limit on today's city streets.

Rechargeable Batteries for Hybrid Electric Vehicles

As oil prices settled down and our economy boomed, the dawn of the 21st century would see the first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicles take to the roadways, such as the Toyota Prius. The Prius primarily used a series of rechargeable nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, but some models have opted for more advanced lithium-ion batteries. Over the past two decades, the main difference between full hybrids and plug-in hybrid vehicles are the ways each vehicle’s battery is charged. A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is charged from an onboard battery pack that draws power from the car’s gasoline engine and brakes, whereas a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) can be plugged directly into an electrical outlet. Widely used in hybrid vehicles, NiMH batteries are expensive and have high self-discharge as well as generate high operating temperatures.

Whereas lead-acid car batteries were designed to provide high power at an affordable price, poor cold temperature performance, low specific energy, and a short calendar and cycle life limit their useful going forward. E3 lithium batteries, on the other hand, have high power to weight ratio, increased energy efficiency, good high-temp performance, and a low level of self-discharge. Most of today’s all-electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles use a lithium-ion battery. Over the past decade, automakers have released several plug-in hybrids that have a gasoline engine to supplement its electric drive once the battery’s charge is depleted. This allows PHEVs to have extended range. All-electric or battery electric vehicles (EVs) are being equipped with longer life, less costly, and faster charging lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries.

Automakers Investing Billions to Improve Battery Power

Although the pandemic is not going to stop for the world to switch to electric vehicles, energy experts say the number of electric cars and trucks on the road is approaching ten million with a double-digit decrease in gasoline-only powered vehicles last year. With automakers worldwide investing tens of billions of dollars to upgrade their lineups with electric powered vehicles, obstacles such as distance-per-charging still limit mainstream acceptance of battery powered cars and trucks. The E3 lithium batteries used in electric vehicles today have a three-layer design that allows lithium-ions to dissolve and move from the anode side of battery when charged to the cathode side when it is discharged. Today’s EVs are using variations on lithium-ion chemistry that are friendly to the environment, rapid charge within minutes, and have a longer lifespan.

Battery pack designs for all-electric vehicles (EVs) can vary by manufacturer as well as the complexity of the application. Advances in battery technology and higher production volumes will allow plug-in electric vehicles to be more competitive with conventional internal combustion engine vehicles with the major reduction being battery costs. Nonetheless, all battery packs incorporate a combination of simple mechanical and electrical component systems that perform the required functions. Since lithium-ion batteries are perishable, they can lose maximum storage capacity each year (even if the vehicle is not driven). According to the latest research, lithium iron phosphate batteries (LiFePO4) reach more than 5K cycles at depth of discharge making them ideal for deep cycle applications. By comparison, nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries lose much less capacity but have a lower total capacity for the same weight.

Reused versus Recycled Batteries

Thanks to lithium-ion batteries, all-electric vehicles can release chemically stored energy without combustion. Since there is zero fuel burned, no air pollution through CO2 emissions comes from driving vehicles powered by E3 lithium batteries. Nonetheless, it is important to understand that the electricity used to charge EVs must come from green sources, such as wind turbines or solar panels, and not from burning fossil fuels. Moreover, as today’s electric car batteries reach the end of their usefulness, they can be reused, recycled, or recaptured. Even though these used batteries may be no longer be able to power your car or truck, their residual capacity still has significant value. The simplest form of direct recycling involves removing the cathode or anode from the electrode and reconditioning them to use in a new power unit.

99% of the lead-acid batteries that are used to start gasoline powered cars are recycled in the U.S., but lithium-ion batteries do not have the same appeal for re-capturing rare earth elements. Moreover, E3 lithium batteries contain less toxic metals than other types of batteries and are generally categorized as non-hazardous waste. Since LiFePO4 battery elements include iron, copper, nickel, and cobalt, they are considered safe for incinerators and landfills. Although important metals can be recaptured, mining generally remains a cheaper process than reclaiming. Re-use of a lithium-ion battery is preferred over recycling as there is less embedded energy in the process. Experts say, as solutions to make electric cars greener are uncovered, more eco-friendly and sustainable batteries will be developed.

Electric Batteries Will Help Tackle Climate Change

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), electric vehicles will be crucial in helping the world meet our climate change targets and cut air pollution. Since the "market for" and "development of" electric vehicles has been policy driven in the past, how governments respond in a post-pandemic environment will influence how fast the world transitions to battery power. Currently, growth in the EV market is dominated by Europe, the United States, and China. However, lithium-ion phosphate batteries are expected to be installed in a majority of electric cars, electric trucks, hybrid vehicles, electric motorcycles, electric bicycles, and other transportation products sold in numerous countries. Once additional charging infrastructures are built and the cost of batteries fall, EV sales are expected to soar as consumers embrace electrification.

Experts say the electrification of transportation will be one of the major market trends for this century. Although electric cars are more expensive to initially purchase, the cheaper operating costs using more durable lithium-ion batteries, could make the total cost of owning a vehicle less money. In addition, it would reduce our environmental footprint and lessen the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. Bloomberg BNEF projects the electric car battery industry will be worth over $500 billion by 2050 as adoption of electric vehicles accelerates in the intervening years. E3 lithium LiFePO4 batteries were born from the same level of global awareness that led to the development of our environmentally friendly spark plugs. Shop performance… buy E3 lithium batteries for your vehicles.