Challenges for Battery Storage with EVs

          

• Lithium supplies may be constrained in the mid-to-long-term, although this is contentious and at least 100 years of reserves have been reported, not including the potential for recycling. Constraints, if any, will be caused by a lack of online capacity. South American mines, particularly Bolivia, account for 55% of lithium production and Australia for 35% of production;
• Supplies of rare earth metals, particularly neodymium, used in magnets in motors in electric vehicles. Toyota is developing an induction motor that does not use rare earth metals;
• Battery safety and reliability is an issue because lithium batteries can overheat and are affected by extreme temperatures altering performance levels;
• Poor battery life and low range of current models on the market;
• High cost of vehicles and availability;
• Lack of charging infrastructure, especially charging points at residents, workplaces and other sites that are frequently visited supplies by three-phase electricity. Two main types of charging stations are available: a slow charging point that takes 6 to 8 hours to fully charge a battery and a fast charging point that can charge a battery in half an hour;
• Grid capacity, as a high localised concentration of electric vehicles could push transformers and grids to the limit if a significant number of electric vehicles are charging at peak times in a grid-constrained area.
• The ‘chicken and egg situation’ – customers will not buy vehicles unless there is sufficient infrastructure and large-scale infrastructure will not be implemented until customers buy enough vehicles to justify the investment;
• Safe and easy to use infrastructure e.g. the prevention of overloading of the grid by a demand response, vehicle-to-grid system such as GridPoint and V2Green smart grid software that prevents too many vehicles being grid-connected at one time.
• Competition from conventional fuel sources and other alternative fuel sources which are further along in the development pathway such as biofuels, which already fit into the current infrastructure, and compressed natural gas.