Comparison of the state of lithium-sulphur and lithium-ion batteries applied to electromobility

Abstract

The market share in electric vehicles (EV) is increasing. This trend is likely to continue due to the increased interest in reducing CO2 emissions. The electric vehicle market evolution depends principally on the evolution of batteries capacity. As a consequence, automobile manufacturers focus their efforts on launching in the market EVs capable to compete with internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV) in both performance and economic aspects. Although EVs are suitable for the day-to-day needs of the typical urban driver, their range is still lower than ICEV, because batteries are not able to store and supply enough energy to the vehicle and provide the same autonomy as ICEV.

EV use mostly Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries but this technology is reaching its theoretical limit (200–250¿Wh/kg). Although the research to improve Li-ion batteries is very active, other researches began to investigate alternative electrochemical energy storage systems with higher energy density. At present, the most promising technology is the Lithium-Sulphur (Li-S) battery.

This paper presents a review of the state of art of Li-Sulphur battery on EVs compared to Li-ion ones, considering technical, modelling, environmental and economic aspects with the aim of depicting the challenges this technology has to overcome to substitute Li-ion in the near future. This study shows how the main drawbacks for Li-S concern are durability, self-discharge and battery modelling. However, from an environmental and economic point of view, Li-S technology presents many advantages over Li-ion.