Electric Vehicle Battery Packs May Soon Be Repairable

Many traditional vehicle components like engines, transmissions, alternators, starter motors, and even axle shafts are rebuildable. For instance, if your car or truck's gearbox starts failing, there's a good chance the replacement unit you purchase from a dealership or auto parts store has been rebuilt, meaning everything's been torn apart, cleaned, inspected, and many of the internal components replaced. This results in essentially a brand-new transmission, one that just happens to incorporate a few used parts.

There should be zero performance or longevity difference between a new and rebuilt component. According to an article published by HonestJohn.co.uk, we may be getting close to a point where electric vehicle[1] battery packs can be repaired or rebuilt much like an engine or starter motor.

Automakers To Appeal Right-To-Repair Verdict[2]

A litigious group of automakers disagrees with consumers' right to repair their own vehicles.

Repairing Often Makes More Sense Than Replacing

EV batteries are staggeringly expensive[3] because they contain a mountain of rare and pricey materials, plus they're extremely delicate and require exacting manufacturing techniques. This means that oftentimes battery packs are not repairable if they are damaged, even just a tiny bit.

This makes replacing them staggeringly pricey, which increases the cost of car insurance. As reported HonestJohn.co.uk[4], though, this situation is slowly starting to change. Ashley Minors from Boswell Automotive noted that, "Some insurers are doing progressive work in this area, such as creating training schemes to ensure greater availability of battery specialists who can carry out repairs, while partnering with battery recyclers where repair is not possible." This can help reduce the cost of EV repair and lower insurance premiums.

"As more and more data on EV operation is accumulated and knowledge on EV repair shared, they can make more informed underwriting decisions," said Minors. Similarly, David Gray of Cox Automotive EV Battery Solutions noted that a lot of work is going on in this area right now. "It doesn't work for all battery technologies[5] or for all types of damage, but there are instances now where we can carry out viable economic repairs that will allow dealers to retrieve cars into saleable condition."

We're Not There Quite Yet

According to Gray, repairable battery pack designs tend to be pricier than other configurations, but he predicts that progress in this area will move forward rapidly. Aside from being more expensive, it's also conceivable that repairable batteries might feature a modular design, with accessible sub-assemblies that can easily be removed, and either serviced or replaced.

This sort of configuration might be less efficient, and could negatively impact EV range, though the potential repairability benefits cannot be ignored. Hopefully, engineers can quickly introduce electric vehicle battery packs that are easily rebuildable[6]. This makes better use of resources, and should reduce insurance costs, and lower prices for drivers because their EVs should be easier to fix if something goes wrong with the battery pack.

And who knows, maybe in the near future you'll be able to buy a remanufactured EV battery module from your local auto parts[7] store and replace it yourself, just like you would an alternator or axle shaft.

References

1. ^ electric vehicle (www.topspeed.com)
2. ^ Automakers To Appeal Right-To-Repair Verdict (www.topspeed.com)
3. ^ EV batteries are staggeringly expensive (www.topspeed.com)
4. ^ HonestJohn.co.uk (www.honestjohn.co.uk)
5. ^ battery technologies (www.topspeed.com)
6. ^ electric vehicle battery packs that are easily rebuildable (www.topspeed.com)
7. ^ auto parts (www.topspeed.com)