Anything that Moves The million mile battery & the trillion dollar question
Steve LeVine, Editor of The Electric and author of The Powerhouse, joins Anything That Moves to talk about the battery supply chain, second life for lithium batteries, and where human psychology meets the charging challenge. Plus: a discussion of why this transition is so tricky for ICE automakers and why it is so hard to take new battery chemistries to market.
A note to our listeners:
You'll forgive Steve and Meir for geeking out with some deep industry battery acronyms – they couldn't help themselves; for the rest of us, here's a glossary of terms.
Steve's book, The Powerhouse, is a great resource if you want to dig deeper.
LFP (Lithium-iron-phosphate) – Lower energy density, cheaper than the main alternatives; in theory, longer range and safer (less likely to blow up).
NMC (Lithium nickel-manganese-cobalt) – Most common in today's vehicles. Higher energy density, longer life cycle, and more expensive than LFP.
NCA (Nickel-cobalt-aluminum) – Most common in Tesla's higher-end models. More expensive than LFP, batteries are similar to NMC packs with better lifespan.