New Cold-Resistant EV Battery Works at -40°F Using Advanced Polymer
The Cold Challenge for Electric Vehicles
When the polar vortex hit Chicago in early 2024, it brought more than just frigid temperatures. The city’s electric vehicle (EV) charging stations became battlegrounds for struggling batteries. Dead Teslas were towed by the dozen as their batteries failed to function in the extreme cold. This event served as a stark reminder of a critical issue in the green energy transition: if batteries can’t handle harsh winters, the technology may not be viable for the future.
A New Approach to Battery Technology
To address this challenge, researchers at Texas A&M University, led by Dr. Jodie Lutkenhaus, have developed a groundbreaking polymer-based battery capable of operating in extreme cold. This innovation aims to solve a major problem with current EV and backup batteries, which often fail when their liquid electrolytes freeze.
“We’re able to do this because we replace the liquid electrolyte that freezes with a different electrolyte that does not. We also replace the hard inorganic materials that are sluggish at low temperatures with soft polymer materials that are a bit faster,” said Lutkenhaus, professor of chemical engineering and associate dean for research in the College of Engineering.
Non-Freezing Electrolyte
Standard lithium-ion batteries rely on a liquid electrolyte to move charge. When temperatures drop, that liquid thickens or freezes, stopping the flow of energy entirely.
“If that electrolyte freezes, then charge can no longer be transported. Hence, the battery will not charge or discharge,” said Lutkenhaus.
The team observed this exact issue during the 2024 cold snap in Chicago, where electric vehicle batteries were so cold and frozen that they did not charge at their powering stations.
To improve cold-weather performance, the research team developed an organic dual-ion battery that replaces standard rigid inorganic electrodes with flexible redox-active polymers. These flexible, organic materials allow ions to move freely, even at -40°C.
The polymer was paired with a diglyme-based electrolyte — a specialized solution that remains liquid and functional at extreme temperatures where standard battery fluids would normally crystallize and stop working.
In testing, the design mitigated cold-weather power loss, sustaining 85% of its capacity at 0°C and 55% at -40°C without sacrificing specific power rates.
Carbon-Fiber Integration
Furthermore, the researchers improved durability by replacing heavy, brittle metal collectors with carbon-fiber weaves. This innovation created a “structural battery” that serves a dual purpose: storing energy and providing the physical strength needed to support a vehicle or device’s frame.
The design reduces overall weight and prevents the mechanical cracking that often plagues standard batteries in harsh environments.
Existing batteries fail in the cold because ion movement slows to a crawl, but this new design avoids that collapse by pairing a low-temperature electrolyte with flexible polymer electrodes.
This development is a major step toward winter-proof energy storage that could secure everything from handheld gadgets to the national power grid.
“With a massive storm or cold snap, electrical grids can go down. Batteries can cover those outages and gaps,” Lutkenhaus said. “If we want an energy system that’s resilient in all seasons, we need storage that isn’t vulnerable to temperature swings.”
Although the technology is still in development, it shows that materials science can solve longstanding energy hurdles — though, for now, Dr. Lutkenhaus still recommends the simple fix of parking your EV in a warm garage to keep current batteries from freezing.
Future Implications
The study was published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A. This breakthrough could pave the way for more reliable energy storage solutions, ensuring that even in the harshest conditions, power remains accessible and dependable. As the world continues to shift toward sustainable energy, innovations like these are crucial for building a resilient and efficient energy infrastructure.
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