Electric vehicle battery testing and development at Argonne National Laboratory

The Electric Vehicle Battery Testing and Development Project for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) does selected electric vehicle (EV) battery performance evaluations and special application tests in support of the EPRI Electric Transportation Program. Overall, this program provides information to aid the design and development of improved components and systems for electric vehicles. The Electrochemical Technology Department in the Chemical Technology Division of the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) manages the project under the sponsorship and direction of the EPRI Electric Transportation Program. This report summarizes the work in this program from January through December 1991. Technical tasks and activities encompassed battery testing, post-test teardown analyses and special technology/application-related studies. Battery testing activities included evaluation of nickel/iron, lead-acid, nickel/cadmium, and nickel/metal-hydride EV battery technologies. Post-test analyses examined 6Vl60 and 3ET205 lead-acid cells. Special studies/analyses were conducted to examine Ni/Fe battery outgas composition and electrolyte variations, the self-discharge loss of nickel/metal-hydride cells, the effects of partial discharge operation on the available energy of Ni/Cd modules, and the effect of charge method/return/pulse-currents on Ni/Fe battery performance.