Contact person
Kristina Holmgren
Forskare
Contact Kristina
Resource-Effective Batteries and Charging for BEVs
There is a significant increase in demand of batteries for cars due to the fast electrification. At the same time there is a trend of ever-increasing longer range of new models. These trends do not contribute to a sustainable transition since the materials required for batteries are limited resources and the battery production is energy intensive.
Several studies show that a large share of the daily car trips is shorter than 100 km, implying that a smaller battery would be sufficient for most car owners’ daily needs. One way of improving the attractiveness of a car with a smaller battery would be to enable the addition of an extra module to give extra range at occasions e.g., longer trips. Another option would be to offer battery swapping, i.e., a fully charged battery in a few minutes by swapping the depleted battery to a fully charged one. Battery swapping eliminates the problem of extended charging stops at longer trips or days of high utilization. In addition, reducing the need for fast charging will reduce the losses of electricity and increase the lifetime of the battery.
This project aims at investigating how resource demand and the climate impact from electrified cars can be reduced by implementing more resource-efficient batteries and charging strategies that takes into consideration the use patterns of car owners and the need for charging infrastructure.
The project will compare different scenarios for battery size and charging alternatives for cars from a life cycle perspective including the required infrastructure for charging. The alternatives to be included are conventional BEV with static charging and fast charging stations and solutions with battery swapping where batteries are modular so that the user can adjust the size of the battery depending on the planned trips. The alternatives will include different battery chemistries. The comparisons are based on different use cases, which will be defined for different geographies/markets together with the industry partners. The results are useful for vehicle and battery manufacturers but also for infrastructure developers and vehicle users.
The project enables the industry to identify solutions that have a smaller environmental footprint compared to the conventional setup. The project group includes two academic partners, RISE and VTI and two
The project is financed by industry partners and the Swedish Electromobility Centre
Summary
Project name
LCA Car Charge
Status
Active
RISE role in project
Koordinator, projektledare
Project start
Duration
2 år
Total budget
800 000 SEK
Partner
VTI Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Volvo Cars, CEVT
Project members
Supports the UN sustainability goals
9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure
12. Responsible consumption and production
13. Climate action
