Geely’s New EV Battery Lasts 50 Years

Geely has developed a new lithium iron phosphate short blade EV battery that is supposed to offer low resistance, fast charging capabilities, low chance of thermal runaway and remain in service for 50 years. It’s a commendable feat considering that most conventional battery packs last for about 8 to 9 years.

It uses a grid frame design, energy-absorbing cavity, three-layer sandwich bottom guard plate, CTB integration, thermal runaway control system and several other safety features. Geely says that it also uses multi-element doped electrode materials giving it a reduced internal chemical reaction rate thus extending its overall lifespan.

The company says the short blade battery technology solves the high internal resistance of its long blade batteries. It uses long, thin carbon nanotubes to create a “highway” for ion transmission and additives to improve film permeability. This makes it easier for lithium ions to travel between electrodes, which improves fast charging abilities.

According to internal tests, the battery can reach 3,500 cycles, which is equivalent to 1 million kilometers with minimal impact to a vehicle’s range. The “50 Year” lifespan figure comes from Geely calculating usage based on average driving behaviour covering 20,000km a year.

It goes on to say that this achievement should help improve second hand value of its EVs, which at the movement, lags far behind conventional internal combustion engine cars. It may also help reduce overall carbon emissions by more than 80,000 tons a year.

Geely also says that this new battery will become the new benchmark of EV batteries because of its industry leading safety, compact size, higher energy density, better volume utilization, and flexibility in accommodating various pack designs.

It achieved this by using a high-strength, thermal stability and heat-resistant diaphragm with a highly stable separator paired with safer electrodes. The battery also has self-fusing technology that blocks short circuits on electrode surfaces during an impact.

In addition to this, if the battery cell is punctured, its aluminum foil layer will fuse into the battery diaphragm creating an insulation layer that prevents short circuits and thermal runaway issues. Geely says it goes beyond the industry standards when it comes to battery safety.

Instead of the standard single needle puncture test to determine battery safety, Geely uses eight simultaneous puncture needles with a diameter of 5mm and left that way for 1 hour. It’s supposed to act as a worst-case scenario moment simulating what would happen in an accident and unbelievably, there were no issues found.

It was also put through the six other tests that included seawater corrosion immersion, extreme cold environment, high-frequency pack bottom scraping, 26-ton overweight rolling, single-pack side collision, and fire roasting.

If proven true, Geely’s new short blade battery would address most problems people have with EVs. They will hold up better during an accident, offer quicker charging time, and will be easier to sell when moving on to the next best thing. Since the company also owns Volvo Cars, Lotus Cars, and Proton, we could see a whole crop of electric vehicles that will be able to last us an entire lifetime.