When it comes to electric vehicles (EVs) in Canada’s cold climate, there’s a critical issue that’s often overlooked: the impact of freezing temperatures on lithium-based batteries. It’s not just the cold itself but the long-term damage these conditions can cause. Concerns about charging stations, sunlight availability, or costs, while valid, are secondary compared to this fundamental problem.
Lithium batteries are the backbone of modern technology, powering everything from EVs to renewable energy storage, cell phones, laptops, and tablets. However, Canada’s harsh winters pose serious challenges to their performance, safety, and durability. Even alternatives like Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries, though promising in some areas, bring their own unique advantages and drawbacks.
Let’s break down why lithium batteries struggle in cold climates and weigh the potential of LiFePO4 batteries in addressing these issues.
Cold Weather Reduces Performance of Lithium Batteries
In freezing temperatures, standard lithium-ion batteries experience notable performance declines, including:
- Capacity Loss: Cold weather slows down the chemical reactions inside lithium batteries, significantly reducing energy output. For electric vehicles (EVs), this translates to fewer kilometers per charge, requiring more frequent charging.
- Charging Challenges: Charging lithium-ion batteries in sub-zero temperatures is often inefficient and can cause irreversible damage, shortening the battery’s lifespan. The Battery Management System (BMS) typically prevents charging below 0°C to protect the battery from overcharging and overheating.
How often is it that cold during Canada’s winter months? Quite often…
Cold temperatures can cause permanent harm to lithium batteries over time:
- Overnight Damage: When your EV—or even a public electric bus—is parked outside in sub-zero temperatures overnight, the battery can sustain damage due to the cold. This damage often goes unnoticed until performance significantly deteriorates.
- Lithium Plating: Charging lithium batteries in freezing conditions can cause lithium to plate on the battery’s anode. This process leads to reduced capacity, a shorter lifespan, and an increased risk of failure.
- Structural Damage: Extreme cold causes the materials inside batteries to contract, potentially resulting in cracks or leaks. These structural failures are not only expensive to repair but can also be hazardous.
- Storage Challenges: Unless your EV is kept in a controlled, heated environment—similar to how you protect devices like cell phones or laptops—the cold can accelerate battery degradation. This often results in costly replacements long before the batteries’ intended lifespan. In severe cases, cold-related damage can even lead to fires.
For off-grid living, batteries should never be stored in areas where temperatures drop below freezing. Proper storage above freezing is essential. While some municipalities recommend outdoor storage to reduce fire risks, ironically, prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures is a major factor contributing to thermal runaway events, where batteries overheat and potentially catch fire.
In Canada’s climate, this presents a significant challenge. To prevent damage, you’d need a heated garage to park your EV or a heated compartment to store the batteries, which would require plugging in. This ironically defeats the purpose, as it adds energy costs and increases environmental impact—effectively creating the very problem you were trying to solve.
The reality is that in Canada, we’re likely to face a high number of premature, expensive battery replacements and an elevated risk of battery fires compared to warmer climates. Yet, this is something no one tells you when you buy an EV—and the media isn’t talking about it.
Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Batteries: The Good and the Bad
The Good:
- Improved Safety: LiFePO4 batteries are generally safer than traditional lithium-ion batteries (e.g., lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide). They are significantly less prone to overheating, thermal runaway, and fires, making them a safer choice for a wide range of applications, especially in challenging environments, or off grid applications
- Longer Lifespan: These batteries offer excellent cycle life, often exceeding 2,000–4,000 charge cycles (or more with proper care). This longevity makes them a cost-effective option over time, despite their higher initial price.
- Better Low-Temperature Discharge Performance: Compared to other lithium-ion chemistries, LiFePO4 batteries can function in colder climates more effectively. They can discharge at temperatures as low as -20°C (-4°F) without severe performance losses, although they are still not immune to cold-weather impacts, they should also be stored in a controlled environment above freezing temperatures
- Environmental Friendliness: LiFePO4 batteries avoid using cobalt or nickel, which are expensive and often have ethical and environmental concerns in their extraction.
The Bad:
- Cold Weather Charging Risks: While LiFePO4 batteries can discharge in cold temperatures, charging them in sub-freezing conditions can cause damage, such as lithium plating on the anode. This may lead to reduced capacity and a shorter lifespan. To avoid this, they often require built-in heating systems or a controlled environment for safe charging.
- Lower Energy Density: LiFePO4 batteries generally have a lower energy density than other lithium-ion chemistries. This means they store less energy for the same size, which can impact applications like electric vehicles by reducing their range.
- Heavier and Bulkier: Due to their lower energy density, LiFePO4 batteries are typically heavier and larger for the same capacity compared to some other lithium chemistries. This can be a drawback for applications where weight and size are critical. Such as a EV and are not used as often because of that reason.
- Higher Initial Cost: LiFePO4 batteries tend to have a higher upfront cost compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries. While their longer lifespan and lower maintenance requirements can offset this over time, the initial expense can deter adoption in cost-sensitive applications.
While LiFePO4 batteries perform better than many alternatives in cold weather, they are still susceptible to damage, particularly during charging in freezing conditions. Has anyone told you about this if you’re considering buying an EV?
Safety Hazards
Lithium batteries inherently carry risks, and these dangers are heightened in cold environments:
- Fire Risk: Charging a cold lithium battery or pushing it beyond its temperature limits can lead to internal short circuits, which might cause fires.
- Transportation Risks: Shipping and storing lithium batteries in sub-zero conditions can increase the risk of accidents or fires, posing safety concerns during logistics and transport.
Practical Challenges for Canadians
The cold presents logistical challenges for lithium batteries:
- Reduced EV Range: Cold weather significantly reduces the range of electric vehicles, making them less practical in regions with extreme temperatures and long distances between charging stations.
- Energy Use for Heating: To maintain optimal operating conditions, additional energy is often required to heat batteries in cold climates, reducing the energy efficiency and environmental benefits of these solutions.
- Cold can cause Damage: A higher likelihood of expensive battery replacements and an increased risk of fires.
Conclusion
Lithium batteries are widely used in Canada, but their performance and durability in cold weather remain problematic. LiFePO4 batteries offer improvements in safety and cold-weather resilience compared to traditional lithium-ion chemistries. However, they are still susceptible to damage in freezing temperatures, which can lead to reduced capacity, shorter lifespans, and, in extreme cases, structural failure. Prolonged exposure to cold increases the risk of lithium plating and thermal runaway, potentially leading to fires—an issue compounded by improper storage or use.
Resources: This is just a few resources; there are more if you want to research. Also, feel free to fact-check this post in ChatGPT.
Lithium-Ion Batteries under Low-Temperature Environment – PMC
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9698970/
How Extreme Cold Can Crack Lithium-Ion Battery Materials, Degrading Performance – SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/news/2021-08-26-how-extreme-cold-can-crack-lithium-ion-battery-materials-degrading-performance
Low Temperature Batteries: How Does Cold Affect Power Sources? – City Labs
https://citylabs.net/temperature-control/cold-batteries/
Influence of Low Temperature Conditions on Lithium-Ion Batteries and Their Aging – PMC
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9062004/
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