Stanford study makes surprising discovery about electric vehicle batteries — here’s what it means for EV owners

Scientists out of Stanford University’s SLAC-Stanford Battery Center have found that electric vehicle batteries may last much longer than previously thought.

In their new study, published this December in the journal Nature Energy, researchers found that the common way EV batteries have been tested — by quickly repeating a cycle of steady battery drain, followed by immediate recharging — may underestimate these batteries’ lifespans.

For this study, the researchers tested a number of batteries under real-world driving conditions, such as heavy traffic, freeway driving, and long stretches of being parked. They found that the more a test mimicked real-world situations, the longer a battery lasted. In fact, these tests showed some batteries “could last about a third longer than researchers have generally forecast,” according to the Stanford Report.

“We’ve not been testing EV batteries the right way,” Stanford professor and study author Simona Onori told the Stanford Report. “To our surprise, real driving with frequent acceleration, braking that charges the batteries a bit, stopping to pop into a store, and letting the batteries rest for hours at a time, helps batteries last longer than we had thought based on industry standard lab tests.”

This is encouraging news for the growing number of drivers who use EVs for daily commuting.

EV use has increased dramatically in recent years. In 2023, for the first time, more than 1 million battery EVs were sold in the United States. Globally, according to a report from the International Energy Agency, about 18% of all cars sold in 2023 were electric.

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The longer an EV battery lasts, the more benefits drivers can enjoy. For some, additional battery life means they will be able to own and drive the car for several more years. For others, it means they’ll likely see higher resale values when they decide to move on from their current EV.

Selling an EV involves some steps that are a little bit different from selling a gas-powered car. Common maintenance records for things like oil changes aren’t relevant, but battery life absolutely is.

A service like Recurrent can make that process easier and more lucrative for sellers. Not only does Recurrent connect sellers with dealers across the country, but it also monitors an EV’s battery life, providing valuable information when selling your car. In fact, those who use Recurrent sell their EVs for an average of $1,400 more than those who don’t.

You can even compare your battery life to that of similar cars, which could give you another leg up when selling.
“It’s not a competition — it’s more like seeing, how’s your battery doing compared to what it should be?” Recurrent CEO Scott Case told The Cool Down. “And if there are big problems, we can alert you and say, something’s up with your battery.”

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