It's quite simple

How to double the battery service life

(Bild: Stephan Schätzl)

Electric car batteries age as a result of charging. Researchers hope that this effect could be greatly reduced if the charging current is pulsed correctly.

The service life of lithium-ion batteries could be significantly increased by pulsed charging current. In the best case scenario, the battery's service life doubles compared to charging at constant current, as a study led by the Helmholtz Center and Humboldt University in Berlin has shown.

The researchers charged conventional batteries both with a constant current flow and with pulsed current and then dismantled and examined them. The pulsed current batteries showed significantly fewer negative effects on the electrodes, for example in the form of cracks or deposits. "Charging with pulsed current promotes the homogeneous distribution of the lithium ions in the graphite. This reduces the mechanical stress and thus the formation of cracks in the graphite particles, so that the graphite anode remains stable for longer," say the researchers.

Pulsed current

Pulsed current is nothing other than direct current that is pulsed (or chopped). It is therefore always a rhythm of current on and current off.

Currently, electric car batteries are usually charged with constant current. To switch to pulsed charging, only the charging protocols would need to be adapted, not the infrastructure and battery technology. According to the researchers, however, the right pulse frequency is crucial for delaying the ageing effect.