{"id":24918,"date":"2018-07-05T13:24:16","date_gmt":"2018-07-05T17:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=24918"},"modified":"2022-03-16T10:44:26","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T14:44:26","slug":"fast-charging-self-heating-battery-revolutionize-electric-vehicles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/fast-charging-self-heating-battery-revolutionize-electric-vehicles\/","title":{"rendered":"Fast-Charging, Self-Heating Battery Set to Revolutionize Electric Vehicles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Penn State researchers have developed a <\/span>self-heating car battery<\/span><\/a>, capable of being rapidly charged in cold temperatures. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is a significant development since the weather is one of the biggest barriers that electric car companies face, and it could inspire more people living in cold-weather states, outside of sunny California, to purchase electric vehicles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditionally, temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit slow down the speed in which lithium-ion batteries can charge and contribute to battery degradation, making people hesitant to take electric vehicles far distances from their homes. <\/span><\/p>\n

“Electric vehicles are popular on the west coast because the weather is conducive,” <\/span>Xiao-Guang Yang<\/span><\/a>, an assistant research professor in mechanical engineering at Penn State and co-author of the study, said in a statement.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“Once you move them to the east coast or Canada, then there is a tremendous issue. We demonstrated that the batteries can be rapidly charged independently of outside temperature.”<\/span><\/p>\n

This new battery can be charged to 80 percent in 15 minutes, anywhere, anytime. It is even capable of rapid charging at minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTime is money! No one wants to wait around for hours to get electric cars or smartphones charged,\u201d said <\/span>Chao-Yang Wang<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>a professor and Diefenderfer Chair of mechanical and nuclear engineering <\/span>at Penn State and co-author of the study. <\/span><\/p>\n

In traditional lithium-ion batteries, fast charging is only possible in warm weather because the heat enables the batteries to be reactive to high rates of electrical currents. <\/span><\/p>\n

In cold weather, however, charging currents have to slow down to avoid making lithium metal dendrites that can cause damage to the battery life and is a safety hazard, said Wang. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo change this, we came up with an idea to use the electrical energy from a charger to rapidly warm up a cold battery first before fast charging,\u201d said Wang. \u201cAs a result, we invented a battery with dual functions of energy storage and instant self-warming.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

How it works<\/b><\/h2>\n

In previous work, the researchers developed a battery that can avoid below-freezing power drainage by self-heating. <\/span><\/p>\n

They applied the same principles in this development. <\/span><\/p>\n

Batteries have two terminals, a positive and a negative. In this project, the researchers attached thin nickel foil to the negative end to create a third terminal. When it drops below room temperature, a sensor attached to a switch sends electrons through the nickel foil. This rapidly heats up the foil and warms up the battery. <\/span><\/p>\n

When the battery gets back to above room temperature, the switch opens so that the electric current flows into the battery and quickly charges it. <\/span>“One unique features of our cell is that it will do the heating and then switch to charging automatically,” Wang said in a statement. “Also, the stations already out there do not have to be changed. Control off (sic) heating and charging is within the battery, not the chargers.”<\/span><\/p>\n

A paper describing the battery is published in the journal <\/span>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Testing the battery<\/b><\/h2>\n

Through testing, the researchers found that their battery could withstand 4,500 cycles of 15-minute-long charging sessions at 32 degrees Fahrenheit with only 20-percent capacity loss. <\/span><\/p>\n

This equates to 280,000 miles of driving and a 12.5-year lifetime. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is exceptionally impressive because all batteries are known to degrade over time, and the life of these batteries would allow for a vehicle life-span longer than most warranties. <\/span><\/p>\n

Conventional batteries that went through the same test lost 20-percent capacity in 50 charging cycles. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt removes the temperature restriction for battery fast charging for good,\u201d said Wang. \u201cImagine that it is now possible for AAA to fast charge a stranded electric vehicle with empty battery in the cold. What about fast charging an electric truck in the winter which is too big to park in a heated garage like Tesla cars?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/b><\/h2>\n

The technology is already being implemented into commercial vehicles. BMW recently signed a <\/span>deal<\/span><\/a> that gives them access to the batteries. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wang expects to see the technology in vehicles on the market in 3-5 years. <\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, the technology will be used in the next Winter Olympics. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI also expect our technology to be used for fast charging of smartphones and drones in the cold,\u201d said Wang.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Penn State researchers have developed a self-heating car battery, capable of being rapidly charged in cold temperatures. This is a significant development since the weather is one of the biggest barriers that electric car companies face, and it could inspire more people living in cold-weather states, outside of sunny California, to purchase electric vehicles. Traditionally, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":24924,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[637,232,249,402,403,404,405,406,407,408,409,410,411,412,413,414,415,416,417,418,419,420,421,230,229],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alternative-energy","category-technology","category-pennsylvania-state-university-main-campus","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-abington","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-altoona","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-beaver","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-berks","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-brandywine","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-dubois","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-erie-behrend-college","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-fayette-eberly","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-greater-allegheny","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-harrisburg","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-hazleton","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-lehigh-valley","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-mont-alto","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-new-kensington","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-schuylkill","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-shenango","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-wilkes-barre","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-worthington-scranton","category-pennsylvania-state-university-penn-state-york","category-pennsylvania-state-university-world-campus","category-news","category-lead-stories"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Penn-State-self-heating-battery.jpg",830,533,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Penn-State-self-heating-battery-224x144.jpg",224,144,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Penn-State-self-heating-battery-300x193.jpg",300,193,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Penn-State-self-heating-battery.jpg",830,533,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Penn-State-self-heating-battery.jpg",830,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Penn-State-self-heating-battery.jpg",830,533,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Penn-State-self-heating-battery.jpg",830,533,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jackson Schroeder","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/author\/jackson-schroeder\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Penn State researchers have developed a self-heating car battery, capable of being rapidly charged in cold temperatures. This is a significant development since the weather is one of the biggest barriers that electric car companies face, and it could inspire more people living in cold-weather states, outside of sunny California, to purchase electric vehicles. Traditionally,…","featured_media_src_url":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Penn-State-self-heating-battery.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}