One drawback is that a lithium-ion battery can be damaged if it’s fully discharged, so it’s important to keep it partially charged at all times. They can charge more quickly than NiMH batteries, have a lower self-discharge rate, and can function at high temperatures.
Lithium-ion battery packs can be found in the vast majority of electric cars today, especially all-electric vehicles. This means they lose a small portion of their charge even when they aren’t in use. NiMH batteries can be fully drained without damaging the battery, but they don’t charge as quickly and have a high self-discharge rate. But, they also have a few disadvantages, including the fact that they produce more heat. They have a higher energy density than lithium-ion batteries and last longer. Nickel-metal hydride batteries are found in many hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), but they’re less common in battery electric vehicles (BEVs). There are two main types of batteries found in electric cars: nickel metal hydride batteries and lithium-ion batteries. They’re all housed in a flat, rectangular unit that provides thermal management so they don’t overheat.Īnother benefit of this design is that it creates a low center of gravity, leading many EV owners to report that electric cars are easier to handle than conventional cars. Technically, it’s not a single battery, but a battery pack that’s made up of multiple smaller batteries and thousands of battery cells. That’s because while a standard automotive battery is found under the hood (or sometimes in the trunk), an electric car battery sits below the cabin of the vehicle and runs along the length of the car. The battery in an electric car can be easy to miss if you don’t know where to look.