In a report titled Fast Charging of Lithium-ion Batteries at All Temperatures, Xiao-Guang Yang, Guangsheng Zhang, Shanhai Ge, and Chao-Yang Wang present an approach “that enables 15-min fast charging of Li-ion batteries in any temperatures (even at −50 °C) while still preserving remarkable cycle life (4,500 cycles, equivalent to >12 y and >280,000 miles of EV lifetime), thus making EVs truly weather-independent.” Fast charging  in cold temperatures is typically limited by the on-board battery management system to prevent lithium plating, which drastically reduces battery life.

One of the authors of the report, Xiao-Guang Yang, explains that “a plug-in hybrid EV cell that can withstand a 4-C charge without lithium plating at 25° C can only allow a 1.5-C charge at 10° C and C/1.5 at 0° C to prevent lithium plating, which explains the long recharge time of today’s EVs at low temperatures,” write author Xiao-Guang Yang and associates. Improving one property without sacrificing another is always nontrivial. For instance, electrolyte with superior performance at low temperatures is quite often unstable at high temperatures. It is extremely difficult, if possible at all, to develop materials with a high rate for charging while preserving durability and safety over a wide range of temperatures. Here, we make an attempt to free battery science from trade-offs. Specifically, we present a cell structure that can be actively controlled to achieve lithium plating-free (LPF) fast charging in any ambient temperatures.”

To read the original report visit the link below:

Fast Charging of Lithium-ion Batteries at All Temperatures