New Battery Works at -50°C, Triples Electric Car Range

Electric cars might soon charge through polar winters thanks to a battery breakthrough that sounds almost too good to be true.

Researchers at Nankai University in China have created a new type of lithium battery that doesn't quit when temperatures plunge. While today's EVs struggle or stop working entirely in freezing weather, this battery keeps running strong at negative 50 degrees Celsius.

The secret lies in swapping out the liquid inside the battery. Traditional batteries use oxygen and nitrogen-based liquids that get sluggish in cold weather, like honey in a refrigerator. The Chinese team replaced them with specially designed hydrofluorocarbon solvents that stay fluid and functional even in extreme cold.

But the cold weather performance is just half the story. These batteries also pack more than three times the energy of current high-end electric vehicle batteries at room temperature. We're talking 700 watt-hours per kilogram compared to the 250 typical in today's best EVs.

That translates to real-world improvements drivers will actually notice. A car that travels 300 miles on a charge today could potentially go 840 miles with this technology. Even in bitter Arctic conditions at negative 50 degrees, the batteries still deliver 400 watt-hours per kilogram.

The team tested six different versions before landing on their winner: a solvent called 1,3-difluoropropane. It checks every box scientists were hoping for, from low thickness to high stability. The batteries charged and discharged with 99.7% efficiency, even in deep freeze conditions.

The Ripple Effect

This breakthrough could unlock electric transportation in places where it's currently impractical. Northern Canada, Scandinavia, Russia, and Alaska have largely been off-limits for reliable EV use because batteries lose so much power in the cold.

Beyond personal vehicles, the applications stretch into aerospace and grid storage. Imagine electric planes that can operate in high-altitude cold or backup power systems that work reliably during winter emergencies. Remote research stations in Antarctica could run on stored renewable energy year-round.

The research team, whose work was published in the journal Nature, says they can push the technology even further. By tweaking the carbon and fluorine ratios, they believe they can create versions that work in even higher temperatures without losing the cold-weather advantages.

What makes this especially exciting is that it's not a far-off dream. The team has already tested the technology in both coin-sized prototype batteries and larger pouch cells, the kind that actually go into vehicles.

Electric vehicles are already helping reduce emissions where they work well, but this technology could extend that benefit to the entire planet.