An electric vehicle battery is no longer viable for operational use once the electric vehicle can only recharge the battery to around 70% to 80% of its capacity.

With this in mind it has been predicted that by 2040 more than half of the registered new vehicles will be electric. This poses a serious challenge as electric vehicle batteries will need to be replaced at least every 8 years.

By 2025 the stockpile of electric vehicle batteries is expected to exceed 3.4 million.

Reduced battery performance, what are the noticeable signs?

​A declining performance of an electric vehicle battery is noticeable with a reduction in miles per charge and more frequent plug ins.

What are the options once you can only recharge the battery to 70% to 80% of its capacity?

A battery in an electric vehicle which uses lithium based chemistry will lose capacity for every full charge and discharge it undergoes, we call this process a “Cycle” The more cycles a battery does the more it will degrade and lose capacity.

• Option 1 You can recycle as much from the electric vehicle battery as possible.
• Option 2 Salvage any ‘good’ battery cells from the pack and re-package for use in other applications.

Some of the good battery cells within the battery pack can be repackaged and then used as a stationary home energy storage system. Households with solar panels can then store energy collected from the panels allowing the cheaper energy to be used later when the cost may be higher to use electricity straight from the grid.

What do EU Regulations say?

An electric vehicle battery is classified as an industrial battery. Under EU law it is illegal for electric vehicle batteries to be incinerated or sent to landfill. EU regulations require that all battery manufacturers, ( for example AESC in Sunderland) must finance the collecting, treating and recycling all collected electric vehicle batteries.

Where do you recycle an electric vehicle battery?

In Europe a company called Umicore has built an industrial pilot plant in Antwerp to recycle lithium ion batteries. The plant deals with batteries from a number of manufacturers, (Tesla, Toyota and Nissan). The battery recycling process smelters down the batteries to recover precious metals such as cobalt and nickel.

​There are two types of lithium-based batteries available.

1. Lithium batteries
2. Lithium-ion batteries

 
In lithium batteries, a pure lithium metallic element is used as ANODE. These types of batteries are not rechargeable.

​In lithium-ion batteries, lithium compounds are used as ANODE. These batteries are known as re-chargeable batteries. Therefore, Lithium ion batteries are considered as best than pure Lithium based batteries.
 
Lithium-ion battery (Li-ion Battery)
Li-ion batteries are secondary batteries.
The battery consists of a anode of Lithium, dissolved as ions, into a carbon.
The cathode material is made up from Lithium liberating compounds, typically the three electro-active oxide materials,

1. Lithium Cobalt-oxide (LiCoO2 )
2. Lithium Manganese-oxide (LiMn2 O4 )
3. Lithium Nickel-oxide (LiNiO2)

 
What is inside the Lithium-ion battery (Li-ion Battery)?
Li-ion cell has a four-layer structure.
A positive electrode made with Lithium Cobalt Oxide has a current collector made of thin aluminum foil – we call this the CATHODE
A negative electrode made with specialty carbon has a current collector of thin copper foil – we call this the ANODE
A SEPARATOR is a fine porous polymer film between the CATHODE and ANODE.
An ELECTROLYTE  made with lithium salt in an organic solvent. 

​“Giga factory” – This phrase describes a massive battery production facility used to produce batteries on a gigantic scale for electric vehicles and energy storage products. 
Originally it was referenced to a giant factory being built by electric car manufacturer Tesla in Nevada.
 
How would you make a Giga factory battery?
Being an extremely complex process, Gigafactory battery manufacturing involves first using raw materials which require a number of manufacturing processes to produce a finished product, the battery.
 
How big is a Giga factory?
Approximately 5.3 million square feet, covering 43 acres with multiple floors.
 
When it comes to Giga factories where are we in the UK?
To ensure we continue to supply the thousands of jobs to lead the way in electrification we need to have the manufacturing capacity to produce batteries. 
To power the next generation of electric vehicles we must have Giga factory capacity right across the UK.  Importantly, being the heaviest part of the electric vehicle battery production needs to be as close as possible to electric vehicle manufacturing sites.
 
What has the UK Government done already?
Playing an important role the Government has already invested £108m in a new battery facility in Coventry, UKBIC, UK – Battery Industrialisation Centre.   The facility will provide world leading testing facilities for new battery technology and train technicians & engineers in battery manufacturing.  The facility is envisaged as a stepping stone to a large scale battery factory for electric vehicles. 
 
How many Gigaf actories are in operation or planned?

1.  (Giga factory 1) in Storey County, Nevada, U.S
2.  (Giga factory 2) in Buffalo, New York, U.S
3.  (Giga factory 3), in China
4.  (Giga factory 4) in Brandenburg, Germany
5.  (also Cybertruck Giga factory), planned for central United States

What is an Electric Vehicle (traction) battery?
 

• A battery that stores chemical energy and then discharges it by converting the chemical energy into electric energy.  It is used to power the electric motors of the battery electric vehicle (BEV) or hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). 
  
• The batteries used are usually rechargeable batteries and use a lithium ion chemistry.  These batteries are specifically designed for high ampere – hour (kilowatt -hour) capacity. 

 
Example: Nissan Leaf 24 kW Electric Vehicle
 
The Nissan Leaf 24 kW Electric Vehicle battery contains:
 

•  48 modules
  
• each with 4 pouches = cells containing anode & cathode          = 192 cells in total 24 kWh LEAF battery.

 
Each module = nominal voltage of 7.5V
 

• battery pack has a nominal voltage of 360V (= 48 x 7.5V)

 
 
What is a Battery Management System, (BMS)?
 

• Most traction batteries are looked after by a device called a Battery Management System, (BMS).
  
• The purpose of the (BMS) is to protect the battery. 

How?
 

• The (BMS) looks at the state of charge and the operating data from each cell in the battery pack.
  
• If any cell is going to overcharge, over-discharge, or is overheating then the BMS will shut down the battery. 
• It will also do this if it senses any faults within the battery cells..

What is it?

A regenerative braking system is an energy recovery mechanism which slows a vehicle by converting its kinetic energy into a form which can be used immediately.
 
It is used on vehicles to recoup some of the energy that is lost while the vehicle is stopping.
 
All electric vehicles have some form of regenerative braking. This uses the electric motor to slow the vehicle which also puts some electricity back into the vehicle’s battery. This not only makes braking more efficient but it also places less wear and tear on the brakes which means less brake dust which is good for the air we breathe.
 
With an electric vehicle, you will still need to maintain your brake pads however you will notice that this is done less frequently than for a petrol or diesel.