Nickel reduction in EV batteries with NCM 217 cathode

Good for you.  I do the same with my 500e, since it’s easy & should extend the already-great-seeming longevity.  Problem is, it’s not mainstream “common sense” yet, & it really isn’t intuitive, or similar to other common practices (you fill a gas tank, fridge, etc.).  I’m poor, so I research how to make things last.  Most people don’t.  I admit I take advantage of that when they ask “how long to charge” my 500e & I say “It’s like your cell phone: plug it in when you get home (or when you go to bed), & it’s done when you get up”.     

For the Fiat, that’s still pretty good, because just like sleep, it takes 8 hours to recharge the average daily use from a standard US outlet, so the car isn’t sitting long at 100%, & in fact it is factory-limited to only charge to about 85% of true full capacity (4.1V).  I don’t know what Leaf uses for top-end buffer, but of course it’s best to stay below its limit whenever possible.  Does anyone think/know if a big top-end buffer is how the eGolf avoids Leaf’s relatively inferior degradation?

LOL: I think Pedro here said the Zoe was King of degradation (worse than Leaf), but I also think fixed for newer model years. Ya, cheaper to make without TMS but more expensive for the customer long-term if battery replacement is needed.

I read that Leaf cheats, by basing the warranty on the DISPLAY, which they’ve programmed to give fake readings of 67% of original capacity & 161km range even when it’s really at 59% & will only take you 149km or so (didn’t do math but you get the point).    

Also, Fiat doesn’t use the top buffer EVER, even for regen.  There’s NO regen until you get below 98% or so, & even then it’s limited to very few kW until you get below 95 or 90 or something.  In other words, even if Leaf has a top buffer of 20% or more (to try to compensate for lack of TMS) it still could prevent regen from taking it into that buffer zone.   

Yes, the 500e is the deal of the century, so far, at $6k used here now, often with less than 30k miles, & full-on active TMS (A/C chilled when necessary) for Samsung SDI cells, & 100-mile mild-climate city range even with its built-in 15% top-end buffer.

Glad you only use diesel 1%. Might want a 12v battery tender.

At only 40-70%, you’ll have the longest lasting Leaf on Earth! Only other thing you can do is try to stay as close as possible to 0C temperature & current, the latter mostly by driving/regenning a bit slower, but also when you can:

– Charge in shade, early morning, A/C garage or underground, no DCFC.

– Dress warm in winter, park in sun, use recirculate, preheat while charging, seat heat instead of cabin, bring giant hot Thermos. Dress cool in summer (wet shirt!), park in shade, big ice-cold Thermos, blast vent fan to avoid A/C, recirculate only when you need it colder inside than out.

Another eGolf possibility is more heat tolerant battery chemistry.

THANK YOU PEDRO! More capacity also allows the driver to add even larger buffers themselves.

Just for comparison to my water-cooled EV:

Fiat 500e

Total battery capacity: 24? kWh

Usable battery capacity: 22? kWh (92 % BUT it’s water-cooled, AND it only charges to 4.10 V on my OBD, which is supposedly about 85%, so these kWh numbers must be wrong)

Thanks. A lot of interesting info at that first link, although I didn’t see anything at either one about voltage vs. % SOC. At the link below, about 4 pages down, a chart shows 4.1 V is 85-90%. Somewhere else that I can’t find right now showed 4.1 V as 85%.

It actually doesn’t matter to ME though, since I store mine at around 3,9 V in a cool garage, then only charge to about 4,0 V anyway, right before leaving, & return home with about 3,8 V.

However I am less & less concerned about it, after over 6.5 years & 40,000 km without any detectable range loss, or even reports of that from other owners with over double my mileage. I’m not pretending there is no loss at all, just that it’s probably well under 10%, & therefore can’t be differentiated from a bit of a headwind or change in ambient temp.

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/08/26/the-secret-life-of-an-ev-battery/