Electrical Storage for Automotive Systems

The batteries allow for the accumulation of electrical energy through a reversible electrochemical process that transforms electrical energy into chemical energy during the charging phase and returns it as electrical energy during the discharge phase. The process involves energy losses that determine the efficiency of the battery. Among the various types of batteries for vehicular applications, lead-acid batteries are the most used as they are used in the starting of conventional vehicles with internal combustion engines as well as, with the same function, in micro-hybrid vehicles (light hybridization and reduced electric autonomy), plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. Nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries are instead used as power batteries for traction and have allowed the development of hybrid and electric vehicles. Currently they are now giving way to lithium batteries which now offer better performance and competitive costs also in the automotive sector. Sodium-nickel chloride batteries, on the other hand, are candidates to be used for traction in heavy vehicles (eg buses) with plug-in hybrid and electric motors. Lithium batteries already dominate the portable device market and exist in many variations. Research is currently focused on further improving the performance, cost, safety, manufacturing, system integration and recyclability of these batteries which will be used in vehicles for at least another decade and which could only be replaced by 2030 by new batteries being developed like air, lithium-sulfur and zinc-air batteries. Lithium batteries are the most promising market in the international arena, dominated by Asian manufacturers who make use of global partnerships and government support for electric mobility. In Italy there are manufacturers of lead and sodium batteries of great traditions including FIB (formerly FAAM), MIDAC and FIAMM (Zebra batteries), but not lithium battery manufacturers. Some national companies, such as Lithops and MIDAC, are working to build lithium batteries but many other companies are assembling lithium batteries with cells imported from Asia to which control electronics are added. In the R&D sector, ENEA, CNR, IIT, RSE, Environment Park and some universities are active nationally.