EV batteries should last for about 15 Years
03-28-22, 03:29 PM
#1
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
EV batteries should last for about 15 Years
Always an interesting question as we transition to an EV world. Seems like 15 years is a decent amount. Not Toyota long but longer than a lot of BMWs 
- Mar. 28th 2022 2:18 pm PT
One of the most popular questions when it comes to electric vehicles is, “How long does the battery last?” And, I am not talking about the range here. How long, how many miles or years, will a battery pack last in an electric vehicle before you need to replace it?
The truth is that we don’t have a lot of data to answer this question simply because this latest wave of electric vehicles is still quite recent, and the last generation of EVs are still on the road.
Aside from packs that had defects, most battery packs that have been replaced were in EVs that had an excessive amount of mileage. For example, I had a Model X with over 400,000 miles, and it had a battery replacement at about 325,000 miles. But, for most EV owners who use their cars normally, we have to estimate the longevity of battery packs based on battery degradation, which is fairly minimal for the most part.
Now, in a new interview, Tesla co-founder and former CTO JB Straubel says that he believes EV batteries should last 15 years, depending on utilization:
It’s a subjective thing depending on what people’s goal is for the car, but I think it’s going to easily be 15 years in most cases. I think battery life will probably track the life of the vehicle life. Personally, I think it’s less likely that people will place a new battery in an old car.
Straubel should have good insight into this he was responsible for Tesla’s battery development until 2019 and has been part of the largest deployment of battery capacity ever through Tesla’s vehicle fleet.
The engineer is tracking the end-of-life of EV batteries closely since it is critical to his new company, Redwood Materials.
Redwood is developing new processes to recycle materials with a focus on electric car batteries. The company also recently announced that it is also getting into cathode and anode production with a 100 GWh battery material factory in the United States.
The longer an EV battery pack lasts, the better. But, one of the main advantages of EVs over gas-powered cars is that once depleted, the battery pack is still extremely valuable due to the base metals in it.
Straubel’s new company is already working with Ford and Volvo to recycle packs at their end-of-life, but it’s only the beginning. Right now, only a few tens to hundreds of thousands of electric cars are coming to their end-of-life every year, but that number will go up into the millions within 15 years if we are to believe Straubel’s timeline.
Here’s the full interview:
Tesla co-founder and former CTO JB Straubel says EV batteries should last for about 15 years
Fred Lambert- Mar. 28th 2022 2:18 pm PT
One of the most popular questions when it comes to electric vehicles is, “How long does the battery last?” And, I am not talking about the range here. How long, how many miles or years, will a battery pack last in an electric vehicle before you need to replace it?
The truth is that we don’t have a lot of data to answer this question simply because this latest wave of electric vehicles is still quite recent, and the last generation of EVs are still on the road.
Aside from packs that had defects, most battery packs that have been replaced were in EVs that had an excessive amount of mileage. For example, I had a Model X with over 400,000 miles, and it had a battery replacement at about 325,000 miles. But, for most EV owners who use their cars normally, we have to estimate the longevity of battery packs based on battery degradation, which is fairly minimal for the most part.
Now, in a new interview, Tesla co-founder and former CTO JB Straubel says that he believes EV batteries should last 15 years, depending on utilization:
It’s a subjective thing depending on what people’s goal is for the car, but I think it’s going to easily be 15 years in most cases. I think battery life will probably track the life of the vehicle life. Personally, I think it’s less likely that people will place a new battery in an old car.
Straubel should have good insight into this he was responsible for Tesla’s battery development until 2019 and has been part of the largest deployment of battery capacity ever through Tesla’s vehicle fleet.
The engineer is tracking the end-of-life of EV batteries closely since it is critical to his new company, Redwood Materials.
Redwood is developing new processes to recycle materials with a focus on electric car batteries. The company also recently announced that it is also getting into cathode and anode production with a 100 GWh battery material factory in the United States.
The longer an EV battery pack lasts, the better. But, one of the main advantages of EVs over gas-powered cars is that once depleted, the battery pack is still extremely valuable due to the base metals in it.
Straubel’s new company is already working with Ford and Volvo to recycle packs at their end-of-life, but it’s only the beginning. Right now, only a few tens to hundreds of thousands of electric cars are coming to their end-of-life every year, but that number will go up into the millions within 15 years if we are to believe Straubel’s timeline.
Here’s the full interview:
03-28-22, 04:52 PM
#2
Lexus Champion
That's it? So basically the car is dead after 15 years unless you drop 7-15k on it?
03-28-22, 04:58 PM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
03-28-22, 05:54 PM
#5
As I recall the battery warranty on our Model 3 is 8 years / 100,000 miles. Battery Capacity Retention: 70%
Expected life is 300,000 to 500,000 miles depending on use. Maybe after that I can use it to power my house?
Expected life is 300,000 to 500,000 miles depending on use. Maybe after that I can use it to power my house?
03-29-22, 01:57 AM
#6
Lexus Champion
And what if you don't drive it that much? My Sequoia was bought new and it only has 59k miles on it, in this case it would be nearly a brick.
Plus like above me if a car is down 30% of an already short range that's really going to turn people away from used ones in a lot of cases.
Plus like above me if a car is down 30% of an already short range that's really going to turn people away from used ones in a lot of cases.
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03-29-22, 09:58 AM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
And what if you don't drive it that much? My Sequoia was bought new and it only has 59k miles on it, in this case it would be nearly a brick.
Plus like above me if a car is down 30% of an already short range that's really going to turn people away from used ones in a lot of cases.
Plus like above me if a car is down 30% of an already short range that's really going to turn people away from used ones in a lot of cases.
03-29-22, 10:35 AM
#9
03-29-22, 10:46 AM
#10
Lexus Champion
It will be when I can freely set one up how I prefer it, it should be easier than a gas car to do so not harder like it is now. There should be a universal standard like USB-C for all packs and motors so you can easily spec the body you want with the power units you want.
03-29-22, 10:54 AM
#11
Lexus Champion
It will be when I can freely set one up how I prefer it, it should be easier than a gas car to do so not harder like it is now. There should be a universal standard like USB-C for all packs and motors so you can easily spec the body you want with the power units you want.
https://electrek.co/2021/06/14/tesla...eca-racetrack/
Also USB-C is standard on most new cars. My Polestar only has USB-C ports throughout the car, I'm sure that extends to the Packs and motors
03-29-22, 11:02 AM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
03-29-22, 11:12 AM
#13
Lexus Champion
03-29-22, 12:34 PM
#14
That 15 years really depends. How many times was it charged, what climate you live in, how many "fast charges" the battery had, if the battery was charged with damaged equipment, etc.
When electricity rates inevitably go up and gas prices go down (they are bound to sooner than later) it's not going to be such a big advantage over gas.
When electricity rates inevitably go up and gas prices go down (they are bound to sooner than later) it's not going to be such a big advantage over gas.
03-29-22, 12:44 PM
#15
Lexus Fanatic
Good thing gas prices are not going to the moon. 