11 Misconceptions About Electric Vehicle Batteries

In recent years, electric vehicle (EV) technology has progressed rapidly, especially regarding battery technology. This article explores 11 common misconceptions about EV batteries—one of the most promising new technologies in the automotive industry—and addresses concerns about wireless Battery Management Systems (BMS).

1. EV Batteries Are Extremely Complex

EV batteries are often perceived as highly complex, a notion that arose during their early development when new battery cells and systems, including BMS, were integrated into vehicles. However, EV batteries have since become more straightforward, as components once novel in the automotive industry are now widely used and proven reliable. While batteries still represent sophisticated engineering, ongoing advancements are making their design, use, and understanding easier. Innovations in battery chemistry, manufacturing processes, and architecture are helping reduce their complexity.

2. Battery Modules Are Essential to EV Design

Traditionally, battery systems have used modules as essential components to assemble larger packs. However, with next-generation architectures, this idea is being re-evaluated. Emerging designs, such as cell-to-pack and cell-to-chassis integrations, are challenging this approach by directly incorporating cells into the vehicle structure. This innovation enhances energy density, increases usable space, reduces weight, and cuts material usage.

3. EV Batteries Are Inherently Unsafe

Despite highly publicized overheating incidents in EV batteries, they are not inherently unsafe. Thanks to improved designs, such incidents are now rare. Modern systems carefully monitor battery charge, temperature, and overall health, intervening to prevent potential hazards. Lessons from vehicle collisions and battery failures have spurred advances like smart fuses, fault-isolating internal structures, and durable casing materials. These enhancements, combined with rigorous testing and certification, ensure that EV batteries meet high safety standards.

Enhanced monitoring also contributes to safety. For example, cell-level monitoring allows for individual temperature sensors within each cell, rather than shared sensors across multiple cells. This enables quicker identification of issues, such as cell damage or abnormal heating.

4. EV Batteries Have a Short Lifespan

Due to technological advancements and a deeper understanding of cell performance, EV battery lifespan has significantly increased with each generation. Today’s EV batteries are designed to be durable, with many manufacturers offering warranties of up to ten years, underscoring their confidence in the technology. Continuous improvements in chemistry and BMS contribute to longer battery life, enabling sustained charge capacity over years and thousands of miles.

5. EV Batteries Are Difficult to Recycle

Sustainability in EV batteries has been a major concern. However, regulations like the EU Battery Passport aim to address this by improving traceability, especially at the cell level, which supports a more sustainable circular economy. When an EV reaches its end of life, cell “passports” can help engineers identify batteries that may be repurposed for applications such as grid or renewable energy storage, where peak performance is less critical than in vehicles. Deeper insights into cell history, health status (SOH), and chemical composition facilitate safe, responsible recycling practices, ensuring valuable resources are recovered and reused.

6. Wireless Battery Management Systems (BMS) Are Unreliable

While wireless BMS offers design flexibility by eliminating complex wiring, it can also introduce challenges, such as ensuring signals can penetrate metal battery packs and preventing RF interference from high-power cables that may disrupt wireless communication with the main microcontroller (MCU). Unlike far-field wireless communication, a near-field, non-contact design transmits signals only over a short range between the battery monitoring chip and the top-mounted antenna. Compared to far-field solutions, near-field communication is more reliable, ensuring synchronized data transmission even in challenging RF environments.

7. Wireless BMS Is a Security Nightmare

Advances in communication protocols and architecture show that wireless communication within batteries can mitigate security risks. While concerns about cybersecurity arise when implementing wireless communication in vehicle systems, effective safeguards can prevent unauthorized access and data breaches. Encrypted and secure communication protocols limit data access. Additionally, confining the range of wireless signals to just a few centimeters can nearly eliminate security risks; intercepting signals is nearly impossible without physically disassembling the battery.

8. Battery Health Status (SOH) Is Difficult to Calculate and Maintain

SOH, or the health status of EV batteries, is essential for EV range and overall performance, directly affecting user experience and safety. SOH represents a battery’s ability to store energy relative to a new battery and indicates capacity degradation. However, SOH information can be lost once a battery retires, making assessments costly and time-consuming for reuse or recycling. Furthermore, SOH is often assessed at the module or pack level, which may obscure issues within individual cells.

9. Battery Packs Are Too Expensive

Battery packs are typically the most expensive EV component, and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) face the challenge of reducing these costs. Battery costs will continue to decline with design and process optimization, while technological shifts can significantly lower the Bill of Materials (BOM) costs. Additionally, cell-level “passports” can create better reuse opportunities and improve recycling efficiency, helping reduce raw material costs.

10. Transporting EV Batteries Is Too Costly

Transporting lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries is expensive due to strict safety standards, especially when the battery’s SOH is unknown. When cells are removed from an original battery pack, their SOH data is often lost, classifying them as potentially hazardous goods. However, new regulations like the EU Battery Passport help address these concerns. The passport provides a digital record of battery history and SOH, enhancing safety and transparency during transport. By offering precise SOH information, the passport can reduce insurance and shipping fees and mitigate unforeseen risks.

Integrating cell-level monitoring offers even greater insight, with data for each cell rather than just modules or packs. This ensures safe transport by allowing for a more accurate assessment and confident shipment of extracted cells.

11. Battery Manufacturing Is Difficult to Automate

EV battery assembly is challenging, as high-power devices require numerous wires and sensors while minimizing pack size. Traditionally, automation has been limited by complex wiring harnesses requiring manual installation, restricting production efficiency. New architectures, such as contactless monitoring technology, simplify this process by replacing complex wiring with a straightforward, single-antenna design.

Conclusion

As EV battery technology continues to evolve, these 11 common misconceptions will become less prevalent. According to a recent TrendForce report, major battery manufacturers such as Samsung SDI and Toyota have begun trial production of solid-state batteries. Semi-solid-state batteries have reached GWh-level deployment in EVs, with an energy density of 300-360Wh/kg. Currently, limited production scale and immature processes mean semi-solid-state batteries cost over ¥1/Wh, but with expanded production and technological maturity, costs are expected to drop below ¥0.4/Wh by 2035. This will help address concerns about EV battery range, safety, and costs, accelerating the global transition to new energy vehicles.