EV Battery Innovation Might Extend Your Vehicle's Lifespan by Twofold | Carscoops

      Lithium metal batteries are nearing practical application for electric vehicles.

      CATL has achieved a significant advancement by enhancing the lifespan of lithium metal batteries to 483 cycles.

      This innovation has the potential to produce durable batteries with energy densities exceeding 500 Wh/kg.

      The Chinese battery company CATL claims to have made an important breakthrough in lithium metal battery (LMB) technology through quantitative mapping, entering “previously uncharted territory” in electrolyte strategy, which could yield substantial benefits.

      CATL stated that this breakthrough may allow LMBs to achieve both high energy density and extended lifecycle. The prototype demonstrated a lifespan of 483 cycles and could be “incorporated into advanced designs to reach energy densities over 500 Wh/kg.”

      For context, the solid state battery being developed by Stellantis and Factorial has an energy density of 375 Wh/kg, indicating that CATL’s lithium metal battery could surpass it by more than 33%.

      According to CATL, “LMBs are widely recognized as the next-generation battery system due to their intrinsically high energy density, particularly for high-demand applications such as long-range electric vehicles and electric aviation.” However, the company noted that the associated short lifecycle has hindered their commercial viability.

      To address this challenge, CATL “developed and refined a range of analytical techniques to monitor the evolution of active lithium and each electrolyte component throughout the battery’s lifecycle. This methodology transformed a ‘black box’ into a ‘white box’, revealing the key depletion pathways that lead to cell failure.”

      While earlier theories implicated “solvent breakdown, dead lithium accumulation, or disruptions in the solvation environment,” it was found that the primary cause of cell failure is the “continuous consumption of the electrolyte salt LiFSI.” By the end of the battery's life, 71% of this salt is depleted, highlighting the need to focus on “electrolyte durability as a critical factor for sustained performance.”

      Using these insights, CATL developed an optimized electrolyte formulation with a lower molecular weight diluent. This alteration “increased the mass fraction of LiFSI salt, enhanced ionic conductivity, and lowered viscosity, all without increasing the total electrolyte mass.”

      If you're finding it hard to stay engaged, I understand, but here’s the main point: the modifications made by CATL have doubled the lifecycle of the prototype. This represents a significant advancement, and the company referred to it as a “paradigm shift for creating batteries that are both energy-dense and long-lasting.”