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Title: The World's EV Owners Discover Unheated Batteries Lose Distance in
Freezing Weather

Link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/09/15/...

RestOfWorld.org reports on "a global crisis nobody anticipated when
governments started subsidizing electric vehicles..." "EVs can lose almost
half their driving distance when temperatures drop, and the billions spent on
improving technology have failed to fix this fundamental limitation." In
January, Seattle-based Recurrent, a company that tests and analyzes EVs,
found an average range loss of 20% in extreme cold... Lithium-ion batteries
rely on chemical reactions that slow dramatically in cold weather. When
temperatures plunge, the electrolyte thickens, ions move sluggishly, and
charging becomes not just inefficient but potentially dangerous. Charging in
cold weather has been identified as a primary cause of thermal acceleration,
which can lead to fires... The failure pattern repeats globally wherever cold
weather meets inadequate infrastructure. Manufacturers, too, have
acknowledged the problem. Chinese EV maker BYD's user manual, for instance,
advises drivers to charge indoors, with the heating on. That advice is
useless for farmers parking in open courtyards. In fact, research across 293
Chinese cities "found that many drivers in colder regions buy EVs only as
supplementary vehicles," according to the article, "while still relying on
gasoline-powered cars during winter." The article also tells the story of an
apple grower chilly Kashmir, India who discovered that his Chinese three-
wheeler lost 60% of its 10-hour charge overnight. This made it impossible to
begin the 56-kilometer (35-mile) trip on a route with no charging stations -
and prevented him from selling his produce while it was fresh (to earn the
highest prices). And the problem affects the entire region: Desperate drivers
have formed WhatsApp groups, such as "EV Apple Transporters" and "Battery
Help Kashmir," sharing increasingly absurd workarounds. Some have wrapped
batteries in quilts; others have hauled power packs weighing 90 kilograms
(over 200 pounds) into their homes for the night. One driver parked his
battery in the living room. "The blankets caused overheating on the road;
water bottles leaked into the circuits," [orchard owner] Sajad Ahmad said.
"We became mechanics, engineers, and fools all at once." EVs are also not
considered cost-efficient. "Diesel vans are expensive, but they can do four
or five trips a day," Mohammad Yaseen, a driver based in Shopian, told Rest
of World. "With EVs, one half-trip and you're stuck." Norway, where winter
temperatures average minus 7 degrees Celsius (19 degrees Fahrenheit),
achieved 89% EV market share with its comprehensive infrastructure. It offers
more than 200 models for year-round usage. "The ability to preheat batteries
upon fast charging in winter is by far the most important improvement we have
seen in the past five years," Christina Bu, secretary-general of the
Norwegian EV Association, told Rest of World. "These features are standard in
Norway's mature market, but remain absent from basic models exported to
developing countries."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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