A new “all-climate” lithium-ion battery can rapidly heat itself to overcome freezing temperatures with little sacrifice in energy storage capacity and power, researchers say. This advance might enable applications for which high-performance batteries are needed in extremely cold temperatures, such as electric cars in cold climates, high-altitude drones , and space exploration. EC Power is now creating all-climate battery cells in pilot-production volumes that can be put directly in vehicles, says study lead author Chao-Yang Wang , a mechanical and electrochemical engineer at Pennsylvania State University. Lithium-ion batteries not only can suffer problems from overheating , but they also typically experience severe power loss at temperatures below zero degrees Celsius. The consequences of this weakness include slow charging in cold weather, limited regenerative braking , the need for larger, more expensive battery packs to start cold engines, and the reduction of vehicle cruise range by as much as 40 percent, researchers say. Previous attempts to help lithium-ion batteries perform better at low temperatures have considered additives to the electrolytes that connect the electrodes of batteries. However, such additives can release gases at high temperatures that reduce battery life. Another strategy to keep batteries […]
