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The Contradictions of the Battery Electric Car

We are so used to vehicles with combustion engines that we may miss that it took decades to establish itself as the mainstream choice. Electric cars also existed in the early 1900s. Ironically, it was the creation of the electric starter that made the combustion engine prevail from the 1920s on. The modern battery electric vehicle has a bit more than ten years in the market, so it is still early to decree it is the final solution – probably too soon to do so.
The battery electric car has to sort out several contradictions before it becomes mainstream 8 photos
Photo: Tesla
The battery electric car has to sort out several contradictions before it becomes mainstreamThe battery electric car has to sort out several contradictions before it becomes mainstreamThe battery electric car has to sort out several contradictions before it becomes mainstreamThe battery electric car has to sort out several contradictions before it becomes mainstreamThe battery electric car has to sort out several contradictions before it becomes mainstreamThe battery electric car has to sort out several contradictions before it becomes mainstreamThe battery electric car has to sort out several contradictions before it becomes mainstream
Although the future of the automobile is electric, the way to feed the electric motors that will certainly power them is still up for debate. We are just starting to see the first EVs age and start to need battery pack replacements – something no automaker has acknowledged so far will be necessary to keep them running. But there are way more contradictions that show battery electric vehicles will not become mainstream without solving them first.

Tesla demonstrated BEVs were possible by creating its own fast-charging network and selling vehicles with massive battery packs, two things that some car executives claim to be mutually excluding: either you have a large battery pack or a dense fast-charging network. Markus Duesmann told Roadshow in February 2021 that future cars would have smaller battery packs when the charging infrastructure was ready for them. Guys like the Audi CEO think the main issue with BEVs is the large battery pack, which makes them heavier and more expensive. Indeed.

The battery electric car has to sort out several contradictions before it becomes mainstream
Photo: Toyota
The truth is that lighter vehicles are what men such as Colin Chapman and Gordon Murray have pursued their whole lives. Any car that weighs less is more efficient. In other words, the lighter they are, the longer the range they can offer for the same amount of energy. Battery electric cars currently follow the opposite path: bigger battery packs to have more range. That has safety and cost implications apart from efficiency concerns.

The second obvious paradox with BEVs is to rely on fast charging to handle road trips. Waiting way more than you should if you would just fill up a tank is not the only inconvenience involved with that. To achieve fast charging, the vehicles have to work at dangerous voltages – something automakers seem to have worked out well. However, there is something impossible to overcome with the current battery technology: fast charging quickly lowers cell lifespan.

The battery electric car has to sort out several contradictions before it becomes mainstream
Photo: Stellantis
Just think about it: the very thing that makes BEVs a bit more convenient is also something that shortens their lives. EV makers do not recommend that you fast charge the battery packs too often, and some may even use that argument in the future to reduce warranty terms. Ternary cells should never be fast-charged to their full capacity, something that also applies to slow charging. On the other hand, LFP batteries have to be charged to 100% at least once a week.

That shows BEV owners have to know more about their vehicles than ICE drivers normally do. It also illustrates how crucial solid-state batteries and lithium metal cells are to the future of electric cars. They have a higher energy density, which may allow battery packs to be smaller without giving up on range. Theoretically, they can also fast charge without the same risks current battery packs may present. We’ll only be sure about all that when the first production cells reach the market.

The battery electric car has to sort out several contradictions before it becomes mainstream
Photo: Tesla
When that happens, we will still be left with a dilemma: will automakers choose to make smaller and more affordable battery packs, which owners will have to fast charge whenever they travel a bit further, or will they make them large enough so that people may charge these battery packs slowly, as they prefer it to be?

Even without fast charging these battery packs, the third and most crucial oxymoron BEVs have relates to raw material use. Unless they are made to last as long as the cars, they will eventually have to be replaced. What about if they are damaged in a crash?

Thatcham Research is urging the industry to create a sustainable repair framework for zero-emission vehicles, with a focus on BEVs. The organization fears that damages to battery packs will not be easy or economically feasible to repair. Currently, they cost around $20,000, which will be too much money for vehicles that are older than eight years – the usual battery pack warranty. When BEVs are newer and crash, any issue with the battery pack may write off these cars, meaning they will be much more expensive to insure.

The battery electric car has to sort out several contradictions before it becomes mainstream
Photo: Niutron
Despite being clean vehicles, several EVs will just head to recycling plants if they do not get a new battery pack. For cars that were born to fight climate change and save the world, being so disposable will make Earth Overshoot Day arrive sooner. Current vehicles powered by combustion engines may outlive these BEVs, which will literally make this personal transportation solution not age well.

These are the main reasons for people to fear a future in which only BEVs are the only legal option. Without solving these antinomies, car shoppers will always be waiting for a better solution that only new technology or new approaches will be able to offer. Fuel cells? Hydrogen? Swappable battery packs or modules? Renewable fuels? At this point, everything should be on the table until we find something that can ensure personal transportation will still be possible in the future. The contradictions involving BEVs show the technology still needs to mature to become as prevalent as its advocates think it can be. Companies committing to a BEV future will have to make it work, despite all odds. What if they can’t?

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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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