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246 Messages
EV battery lifespan and sustainability - what's the truth?
There's often lots of discussion around the lifespan of an EV battery, with critics often citing unethical mining practices and concerns that the emissions from manufacturing electric vehicle batteries make EVs worse for the environment.
The lifespan of an EV battery. What do the numbers say?
-Outside of recalls, Under 2 per cent of EV batteries are replaced in EVs less than 10 years old
-In EVs between 10-12 years old, such as the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S, the battery replacement rate is only double that (4 per cent)
Lithium-ion batteries – which are used in EVs as well as laptops and smartphones - are composed of materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. These elements are not only scarce but are often sourced from regions with questionable human rights practices.
For these reasons, Amnesty International urges drivers to demand ethical sourcing of battery materials.
Do you have concerns around the lifecyle of an EV battery? As an EV owner, what has been your experience so far?
EV community admin
PeterCa
New user
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30 Messages
11 months ago
Consider that if a modern lithium battery is looked after well, it should be good for a few thousand charge cycles before it has lost a substantial fraction of its capacity. Many cars have over 400km of range and most people drive less than 20,000km/year. Even if such a car lost 25% capacity after 1000cycles, it would still have over 300km of range after 400,000km and more than 20 years. At that point it would remain a useful car with sufficient range for many people's needs.
Note that charging from (say) 30% to 80% twice only counts as one charge cycle.
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