- Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are cheaper to supply and extra steady than conventional nickel-based chemistries.
- A brand new examine from a Tesla-funded lab discovered that LFP batteries degrade sooner when absolutely charged.
- Repeated charging at a better state of cost will increase unfavorable reactions inside a pack.
Electrical autos powered by lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are gaining recognition worldwide. In comparison with conventional nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries, LFP packs are cheaper to supply, pose a decrease hearth danger and provide larger longevity. Nonetheless, they’re much less energy-dense, which is why automakers sometimes use LFP batteries in entry-level fashions just like the rear-wheel-drive Tesla Mannequin 3, the bottom Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Twin Customary second-gen Rivian R1S amongst others.
Automakers say it’s greatest to cost your automobile’s LFP battery to a 100% periodically, no less than as soon as every week in case of Tesla or as soon as a month as per Ford. This helps with pack calibration, permitting you to have a extra correct vary studying in your gauge cluster each time you get behind the wheel. Additionally they advocate doing this to protect battery well being and keep away from diminished efficiency.
CATL’s new Shenxing Plus LFP battery claims so as to add 372 miles of vary in simply 10 minutes.
That’s the precise reverse for NMC packs—provided on most EVs like Lengthy Vary Teslas—the place producers recommend setting a restrict of 80-90% for every day charging. Charging them to a 100% can scale back the pack’s capability to carry vitality over time. This primarily occurs as a result of battery longevity is negatively related to warmth and voltage. The upper the state of cost, the extra the voltage and warmth within the pack which accelerates degradation.
Nonetheless, a brand new examine revealed this week within the Journal Of Electrochemical Society contradicts what automakers have been saying about LFP charging patterns. The examine states that repeated charging cycles at a better state of cost can hurt LFP cells over time. The examine specifies how this occurs on essentially the most granular degree. However kudos to YouTuber Jason Fenske of Engineering Defined for breaking it down for us.
Researchers discovered that maintaining LFP batteries absolutely charged creates dangerous compounds within the pack from excessive voltage and warmth. As you cycle the pack regularly—which means discharging and charging absolutely—these dangerous compounds deposit onto the unfavorable electrode, consuming lithium, inflicting degradation. “At greater SoC, there’s greater voltage, unfavorable reactions recurring throughout the electrolyte get accelerated, consuming the lithium stock,” authors stated.
Ford and CATL are partnering to supply LFP battery cells in Michigan.
Should you’re not driving your EV for prolonged durations, leaving the battery in a decrease state of cost may also help, as diminished voltage would not hurt in the long term. “Biking close to the highest of cost (75–100% SoC) is detrimental to LFP/graphite cells. Our outcomes present a correlation between the typical SoC of battery operation and capability fade fee, which means that the decrease the typical SoC, the longer the lifetime…,” the examine acknowledged. “Due to this fact, the time spent biking at excessive states of cost is crucial to attenuate.”
Among the many examine’s authors was Dr. Jeff Dahn, an award-winning battery researcher who runs the Tesla-funded Jeff Dahn Analysis Group. Dahn’s lab is one in every of Tesla’s lesser identified weapons. It helped the model grasp the NMC chemistry. Electrical Autonomy Canada toured the Tesla-funded lab in Dalhousie College in Canada final yr. The outlet described the connection between Tesla and the Dahn Analysis Group as “a yin and yang dynamic. One is a fast-moving, ever-hungry enterprise. The opposite a slow-moving, diligent educational lab.”
The entry-level 2024 Rivian R1S makes use of an LFP battery pack for the primary time ever.
Nonetheless, it has some flaws. The examine states {that a} 0-25% charging cycle elongates battery life. That appears pointless by way of comfort for on a regular basis customers, particularly if you happen to don’t have a house or workplace charger and depend on public charging. The examine focuses solely on battery longevity, not total greatest charging practices. It leaves out what’s greatest for the broader EV-buying viewers, like particular use instances, comfort, charging occasions and extra. So it’s nonetheless advisable to comply with your automaker’s suggestions.
A better cost is useful usually, like road-tripping, throughout energy outages if you happen to want vehicle-to-home charging, throughout winter when vary loss is accelerated or just for the peace of thoughts. Plus, fashionable batteries final tons of of 1000’s of miles even with unhealthy charging practices. It is one of many causes manufacturers provide lengthy warranties on them. That’s to not diminish the examine, which nonetheless accomplishes the all-important job of discovering extra aspects of what’s nonetheless a comparatively new know-how.
Above all, the authors do not advocate altering your charging habits. “How sensible is it to cycle a battery cell in solely low SoC ranges? There may be clearly a tradeoff between helpful capability and capability retention… It isn’t life like to advocate biking LFP cells between 0%–25% SoC solely, as a result of that may be a waste of capability.”
