Heide Budde-Meiwes

A review of current automotive battery technology and future prospects

In this article, today’s battery technologies and future options are discussed. Batteries have been one of the main focuses of automotive development in the last years. Technologies that have been in use for a very long time, such as the lead–acid battery, are indispensable but need improvement. New technologies such as the lithium-ion battery are entering the market. Supercapacitors (also known as electrochemical double-layer capacitors) can be used for high-power requirements such as regenerative braking. The variety of vehicles has increased with the introduction of hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles and, for each type, suitable battery types are being used or under development. Appropriate battery system designs and charging strategies are needed. Battery technologies can be classified according to their energy density, their charge and discharge characteristics, system integration and the costs. Further relevant performance parameters are the calendar lifetime, the cycle lifetime, the low- and high-temperature performances and the safety.