Battery Taxonomy: The Differences between Hybrid and EV Batteries

[Mich]

The battery pack of an electrified vehicle isn’t just a fuel tank for its motors. It’s also a metaphorical fuel pump dictating the peak power that can be delivered to a motor. While electric vehicles require both range and power from the battery pack, hybrids require similar power with far less energy. Accordingly, the individual cells are optimized to deliver brief bursts of power in hybrids or long-lasting energy to maximize range for EVs. A plug-in hybrid’s battery pack straddles both priorities and lands somewhere in the middle. A battery’s output-to-storage-capacity ratio (what the industry calls its power-to-energy ratio, or watts per watt-hour) characterizes these differences.

Read More... http://blog.caranddriver.com/battery-taxonomy-the-differences-between-hybrid-and-ev-batteries/

 

[k3g]

This is a great topic. People buy EVs mainly because of the fun factor - the extra horsepower! Still, how many of them really understand the function of battery technology and how it affects the capacity vs. horsepower?

 

[JimmYK]

"Hybrids use thicker collectors than EVs to carry more current." Are you sure about that? According to the chart, hybrids make about half as much instantaneous power, so unless they're running less than half the voltage, they would actually need less current than an EV.

 

[casparfelic00]

Nice article. A little bit too simplified though. It doesn't talk about the problem of keeping all the cells in balance. Slight variations among 100's of cells will concentrate charge or discharge on a few cells resulting in their premature failure. What then?

 

[Mich]

What if someone installs both of the battery types? When you floor it in a Tesla, you draw from you high power region. When you are cruising, you pull from the other segment. Wouldn't that be something?

 

[blacksmith]

What if someone installs both of the battery types? When you floor it in a Tesla, you draw from you high power region. When you are cruising, you pull from the other segment. Wouldn't that be something?

The idea sounds theoretically nice but practically unlikely. Putting two batteries in a vehicle would be counterproductive because of the space it would take and the amount of weight it would add. A single pack based on the desired function of the vehicle may be a little compromising but much more efficient.

 

[Mich]

"Hybrids use thicker collectors than EVs to carry more current." Are you sure about that? According to the chart, hybrids make about half as much instantaneous power, so unless they're running less than half the voltage, they would actually need less current than an EV.

Maybe you haven't properly understood the function inside the hybrid batteries. In a hybrid battery, the wires are actually called the collectors. Hybrids need greater levels of electrical current than EVs. That's why they need bigger wires.

 

[nogas]

I am so bad at understanding the mechanics of things. I really like these types of discussions as they allow me to learn and even look up terms and phrases other people are using