"Vast majority" of EV batteries will outlast electric vehicles: study

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A recent study from Canadian telematics company Geotab has suggested that the “vast majority” of EV batteries will likely outlast the life of electric cars. The firm’s findings stand in contrast to the persistent anti-EV argument that electric vehicle batteries will only last a few years before they need to be discarded. 

The firm published its estimates as an update to a 2019 analysis about EV battery degradation. Interestingly enough, Geotab’s 2019 study indicated that EV batteries were degrading at an average of 2.3% per year, as noted in a report from The Driven. Its recent blog post, which included updated data and analysis from fleet usage, suggested that electric vehicle batteries have seen a notable improvement over the years, degrading only 1.8% per year on average. 

“According to our data, the simple answer is that the vast majority of batteries will outlast the usable life of the vehicle and will never need to be replaced. If an average EV battery degrades at 1.8% per year, it will still have over 80% state of health after 12 years, generally beyond the usual life of a fleet vehicle,” Geotab wrote.

Considering that electric vehicle batteries are now degrading only 1.8% per year on average, Geotab estimated that EV batteries could still have over 80% of their health after 12 years. That’s “generally beyond the usual life of a fleet vehicle,” the firm noted. Overall, the telematics company estimated that EV batteries could last 20 years or more at their current average degradation rate. 

Of course, once electric vehicle batteries need replacement, the batteries themselves are not just dumped into a landfill. Batteries are comprised of valuable materials, so companies such as Redwood Materials have made it their mission to master battery recycling. As estimated by Redwood, there will eventually be a time when the battery industry could have a closed-loop system, where end-of-life batteries are recycled to create new ones. 

Geotab’s EV battery degradation study included a number of other interesting insights, such as the fact that high-use electric vehicles don’t really exhibit significantly higher battery degradation than others. The firm, however, did note that there is an “observable difference in battery health between cars that routinely charge on Level 2 compared to those that used Level 1.”

Geotab’s full study and analysis of electric vehicle battery degradation can be accessed here. 

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