I remember reading something a good while ago about fast vs slow charge and battery life.
Alas margo lives on high speed charging. I am curious as to how this is shortening her battery life.
Do you have any links Greg S or anyone. Seen lots on how the max soc level but not much on fast vs slow.
Cheers
OK, we were able to dig up some specifics of the XC40 battery pack and modules. If you want more detail check out this article (
Let's Take A Closer Look At Polestar 2 Battery Details) that describes the Polestar 2 pack - same as the XC40. Based on the battery pack voltage (400V), the pack capacity (78 kW-h) and the “3p” configuration, we can calculate that each battery has a 65 amp-hour capacity...that amp-hour figure is what’s called the “C” rating of a battery...the constant current the battery will produce for a period of 1 hour taking it from 100% to 0%. With lithium batteries, typically the slower you charge or discharge them, the longer they last. The battery manufacturer usually specifies a maximum continuous charge and discharge current, and often times also a peak discharge current (for a duration - for example 10 seconds). This rating is expressed as a ratio of the battery C rating...so they may say max (for example) continuous charge/discharge current is 2C, which in the case of the Volvo would be 2x65=130 amps. We don’t really know the Volvo (LG Chem) battery max charge/discharge ratings. What we do know is if you’re charging at 150 kW (max DC fast charging) that would equate to 150kW/400V=375 amps...and if we know the battery modules are 65 amp-hours, then charging at the max 150 kW would mean 375/65 = 5.8C...from what I’ve read, that’s pretty high. Most lithium batteries I think they recommend charging a .5-1C continuous charge/discharge current...which in the Volvo’s case (use 1C) would be 1x65x400=26kW DC...anyways, it’s a bit of speculation, but I think if you can charge at 25 kW DC for regular charging, and only use the 150 kW DC chargers for your long trips, your battery will thank you. Given proper heat management, you would hope they have designed the batteries to last for the 8-year warranty period with minimal degradation, but it’s anyone’s guess how these will last with a lot of rapid charging. Sorry all of that may be a bit too technical and a bit vague, but there’s a lot more info out there and I just some some fairly generic numbers...we don’t really know what the comfort limits are on these batteries but suffice to say, the less often you use super high charge rates, the better it will be for the batteries.