Battery innovation is accelerating, but modularity is the key to decarbonising transport

Rapid innovation in materials, design and manufacturing technologies continue to advance the performance and affordability of battery technology. This is great news that will spur the roll-out of electric vehicles and couldn’t come at a better time. The risk of surging car use post Covid as people steer clear of public transport has renewed focus on the need for clean, affordable and practical alternatives to conventional powertrain vehicles.

In Europe, the last quarter saw a sharp increase in sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), well ahead of ‘pure’ battery EVs, even as the overall car market has contracted. Time will tell if this is in fact part of a longer term trend towards a structural mix of different EV powertrain types, serving the needs of different drivers.

Battery cost, and its impact on the overall purchase price of a vehicle, is not the only factor that causes people to choose one vehicle over another in the showroom. A new car buyer wants to be sure that their new ride will meet their day to day driving requirements, and will not let them down on the few occasions when their journey and destination don’t provide convenient recharging spots. For some people, charging at home may not yet be an option.

As battery prices fall you might think that car companies will just put more battery capacity into each vehicle to fix this. But with a limited global supply of battery materials this is an inefficient solution, both physically and economically. Carrying around all that extra on-board mass and cost for the once-in-a-blue-moon scenario is maybe not the best use of 100kWh of battery capacity, when this could instead be used to make 4 or 5 plug-in hybrid vehicles that, for the most part, still drive around in zero tail-pipe emissions mode.

The fastest way to decarbonise transport might instead be to require that every new vehicle is capable of driving at least say 30 miles in ‘pure’ electric mode, and then let OEMs and consumers work out how much more is ideal, encouraged by policy nudges in the form of fuel pricing and zero tailpipe emission zones as charging infrastructure rolls out.

Many OEMs are now investing in modular EV architectures that lend themselves to a sort of mix & match approach to powertrain specification, in the same way that laptop buyers have got used to being able to specify how much hard drive, memory, screen size and battery life they need.

Better battery technology that is more durable, affordable and efficient is an important part of the mix. But if we want to decarbonise transport as fast as possible, every new car buyer needs to find an electric vehicle option that works for them.

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