Advanced EV and HEV batteries

Nickel metal hydride is the dominant battery chemistry for hybrid electric vehicles thanks to the success of Toyota´s Prius. However, that same success has stimulated interest in both other types of vehicles ranging from micro-hybrids to plug-in hybrids to full electric vehicles, and other types of energy storage devices such as ultracapacitors, Pb-acid, and Li-ion batteries. Li-ion batteries in particular promise advantages over nickel metal hydride batteries in terms of energy and power density, but face challenges in terms of life, cost, abuse tolerance, and low-temperature performance. To address these challenges, a variety of lithium-ion chemistries and cell designs are under development. These developments are being accelerated by the application of computer-aided design tools for batteries that simulate performance, especially thermal behavior, and abuse.