What affects performance and battery performance

I think I wrote about what effects fuel consumption and performance to regular internal combustion engines many years ago. However since I am focusing on electric motors, batteries and performance – consider this an update on that article. 

Electric motors and batteries that power them have different characteristics to petrol powered internal combustion engines. However the common factor to both ecosystems is that they deteriorate over time and they are effected by the same factors. Some of these factors include:

Ambient, surface battery temperature.
Temperature of all liquids.
Quality and condition of tyres and mechanical components. 
Condition of battery.
Quality of Fuel.
Software updates.
Road surface and incline/decline.
Condition of the driver or rider. 
Level of battery re-gen technology.

The battery is by far the most important factor that affects the performance of an electric vehicle. By 2022 level of technology, the ability of the battery to hold its maximum charge deteriorates relatively quickly. Most manufacturers give the life span of a battery between 7-10 years. Over that time the battery will not be able to store the same amount of power it was initially built to old. That said if you had the same tank of petrol for that amount of time it is unlikely to hold the level of combustibility as when ‘new’. Additionally the lead acid battery that is fitted to all internal combustion engines do require replacement by this time or earlier. 

The current problems with the current level of battery technology include relatively long charging times, weight and size per kHw storage. While the latest commercially viable Lithium-Ion batteries are pretty decent they are still effected by all the factors I listed above and furthermore are relatively inefficient to make. Thankfully there are many new and much improved batteries and tech around them that is being developed but they still need to be commercially and practically proven.

PS: (For the research poor commercial websites) Battery types to look forward to that replaces Lithium-Ion include: Solid State, Graphene, Sodium-ion as  viable alternatives in the in short term. There is also Hydrogen fuel cell technology that is like LPG that is becoming more efficient to make every year. 

To recharge these batteries, effective and cheap renewable power is already being deployed around the world. Power generation systems such as wind and solar are rapidly being replacing the old fossil fuels base and the tech behind these new power systems are getting better and more efficient every year. Personally I would prefer a wind turbine than the complete destruction of the environment caused by smog and radioactivity. Apparently new paint tech on the wind turbines make them less visible to your normal perception. It is laughable the small minded anti-renewable lobby has fallen silent and proven how you need to keep up with progress and not hold on to old technology and ways of thinking. Nokia and Kodak are perfect case studies of how not cling to old technology and perceptions. 

The conclusion and take away is that you will need to change your electric vehicle’s battery after a while but by the time you do there will probably be something even better.  Don’t fear it and join the ride.