The World's EV Owners Discover Unheated Batteries Lose Distance in Freezing Weather

RestOfWorld.org reports on 'a global crisis nobody anticipated when governments started subsidizing electric vehicles...'

'EVs can lose almost half their driving distance when temperatures drop, and the billions spent on improving technology have failed to fix this fundamental limitation.'

In January, Seattle-based Recurrent, a company that tests and analyzes EVs, found an average range loss of 20% in extreme cold... Lithium-ion batteries rely on chemical reactions that slow dramatically in cold weather. When temperatures plunge, the electrolyte thickens, ions move sluggishly, and charging becomes not just inefficient but potentially dangerous. Charging in cold weather has been identified as a primary cause of thermal acceleration, which can lead to fires...
The failure pattern repeats globally wherever cold weather meets inadequate infrastructure. Manufacturers, too, have acknowledged the problem. Chinese EV maker BYD's user manual, for instance, advises drivers to charge indoors, with the heating on. That advice is useless for farmers parking in open courtyards.
In fact, research across 293 Chinese cities 'found that many drivers in colder regions buy EVs only as supplementary vehicles,' according to the article, 'while still relying on gasoline-powered cars during winter.'
The article also tells the story of an apple grower chilly Kashmir, India who discovered that his Chinese three-wheeler lost 60% of its 10-hour charge overnight. This made it impossible to begin the 56-kilometer (35-mile) trip on a route with no charging stations — and prevented him from selling his produce while it was fresh (to earn the highest prices). And the problem affects the entire region:

Desperate drivers have formed WhatsApp groups, such as 'EV Apple Transporters' and 'Battery Help Kashmir,' sharing increasingly absurd workarounds. Some have wrapped batteries in quilts; others have hauled power packs weighing 90 kilograms (over 200 pounds) into their homes for the night. One driver parked his battery in the living room. 'The blankets caused overheating on the road; water bottles leaked into the circuits,' [orchard owner] Sajad Ahmad said. 'We became mechanics, engineers, and fools all at once.' EVs are also not considered cost-efficient. 'Diesel vans are expensive, but they can do four or five trips a day,' Mohammad Yaseen, a driver based in Shopian, told Rest of World. 'With EVs, one half-trip and you're stuck.'

Norway, where winter temperatures average minus 7 degrees Celsius (19 degrees Fahrenheit), achieved 89% EV market share with its comprehensive infrastructure. It offers more than 200 models for year-round usage. 'The ability to preheat batteries upon fast charging in winter is by far the most important improvement we have seen in the past five years,' Christina Bu, secretary-general of the Norwegian EV Association, told Rest of World.

'These features are standard in Norway's mature market, but remain absent from basic models exported to developing countries.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.