Electric cars: what are the different types of batteries?

Lead-acid battery: the original

This was the first battery to power an electric car in 1899. Thanks to this battery, a car was able to exceed 100 km/h for the first time! Building on this success, it remained the main battery for the electric motor until the end of the 20th century before being superseded by lighter, less polluting and more efficient concepts.

The nickel-cadmium batteries: a question of storage

Favoured by the automotive industry in the 1990s, nickel-cadmium had the advantage of being economical and having a good storage capacity. However, recycling these batteries was problematic, as was their storage capacity, which altered the battery’s performance, not to mention the toxicity of cadmium. They are now banned.

Nickel-metal hydride batteries: light and powerful

In the early 2000s, electric cars were synonymous with nickel-metal hydride batteries. Unlike the previous batteries, these are free of heavy metals, but this does not prevent them from providing performance equivalent to that of nickel-cadmium batteries. Finally, they are not expensive. However, this was before the advent of lithium.

Lithium-ion batteries: the champions of the 21st century

The main advantage of lithium-ion batteries is their long service life, but not only that: they also assert their superiority through their high-energy density. Their charging time is between 2 and 5 hours, a significant improvement over nickel-based batteries, which took around 10 hours to recharge. Developed in the 1990s, the lithium-ion battery is now a firm favourite with car manufacturers. Although it has no storage capacity, it can be responsible for unstable reactions. Therefore, they require stringent monitoring, which is the reason for their high cost, and their main drawback. Environmentally, although the extraction of lithium is still controversial, the recycling process is becoming more and more developed.

Lithium-ion polymer batteries: stable but expensive

This alternative to the lithium-ion battery works in a similar way but with solid rather than liquid electrolytes, which give these batteries greater stability. However, lithium-ion polymer batteries are more expensive to produce and have lower performance than conventional lithium batteries.

Graphene batteries: the overachievers

Graphene is made from graphite, a carbon derivative. It is also known as black gold, not only because of its high cost but also because of its excellent performance, which makes it a material of the future for electric car batteries. But that’s not all: like gold, graphene is also extremely durable. Graphene batteries are, therefore, expected to last longer than lithium batteries. However, their main strength is their fast charging speed, which will transform the experience of electric car drivers.

Low production costs, high performance and reliable recycling are the three challenges facing automotive battery manufacturers. From one discovery to the next, batteries continue to evolve to meet our demands as drivers – and environmentalists.