The choice for the best electric car battery depends on the buyer’s budget and point of view. Some may prefer Lithium Ion batteries because they have the highest level of energy density, although they are expensive and there aren’t any developed methods of recycling them. Other users may prefer lead acid batteries that are very heavy, but have the advantage of being cheap and easy to recycle.
For an electric car, the battery is the most expensive and the less environmentally friendly part. Electric cars battery is essential when it comes to the present technology because an electric car cannot travel more than 120 miles without a recharge. Thanks to Alessandro Volta who invented the car battery in 1800 and to Gaston Plante who, in 1859, created a lead-acid prototype battery, people can profit today from the benefits of an electric car battery technology based on rechargeable energy. But taking into consideration science advantages of today’s technology, lead-acid is very inefficient because it provides a energy ratio of only 0.03 kWh per kilogram. Lead-acid users should also consider the environmental implication of such a battery type.
Electric car battery technology based on Li-Ion is a new development. Today, the Li-Ion battery is the most common type of electric car battery available. It is also very efficient because the energy ratio can reach 0.16 kWh per kilogram, significantly higher than the power of lead-acid batteries. Li-Ion batteries use salts mixed in an organic solvent as an electrolyte. Li-Ion salts are not particularly dangerous, but recycling is very difficult because the procedure of extracting the material from the battery is carbon based and very intensive. Because carbon radiations are very harmful for the environment, many people think that Li-Ion batteries are not the great solution.
Specialists have tried to develop Barium titanate batteries that are projected to have a higher level of energy density which means that they can store more energy. Despite this great advantage, some specialists doubt the safety of such batteries because there is the possibility that they could explode and kill every living creature within a 30 meters range. Other specialists think that the future of modern electric car batteries lies in Zinc-air and molten-salt technologies.
Most battery producers today are very busy trying to improve the Li-Ion technology, but they should know that there is room for improvement and focus on developing new electrode materials or testing the ones that have a potential of providing energy. Developers should also consider the environmental aspects of the problem. No battery technology would be ground breaking if it isn’t environmentally safe. The ideal electric car battery should be Li-Ion based, but shouldn’t contain lead, mercury, cadmium or any other toxic substances or heavy metals.
Because until now the best technology for the battery car is Li-Ion because it has the highest capacity of providing sufficient energy, specialists should try improving it by making it recyclable. For individuals that want to be eco-friendly, the only solution is a hybrid car. The best electric car battery can be the Li-Ion one if specialists could only find a way to proper recycle it.