For a transcript, please visit https://climatebreak.org/ev-charging-vehicle-to-grid-integration-with-scott-moura/
For a transcript, please visit https://climatebreak.org/ev-charging-vehicle-to-grid-integration-with-scott-moura/
Ethan: How can we get electric vehicle batteries to perform better? Battery cost and range anxiety can deter drivers from purchasing electric vehicles. To learn more about how we can improve EV battery life, I spoke with Scott Moura. He directs the Energy, Controls and Applications Lab at UC Berkeley where he studies battery management systems.
Prof. Moura: We work a lot on the software controls that take existing and future batteries and get more energy, power and longer life out of them. Absolutely critical, especially for electric vehicles to make them economically on par cheaper than internal combustion engines.
Ethan: As an analogy, Moura invites us to compare a very cautious driver with a race car driver.
Prof. Moura: Imagine a little old lady, someone who’s very conservative driving, to a race car driver who has a super accurate model in their mind of vehicle dynamics. So that’s the paradigm that we’re moving to with battery controls.
Ethan: Moura wants to optimize EV battery usage so that all drivers can operate their vehicles at high efficiency.
Prof. Moura: Batteries are electrochemical systems. The key to what we're doing is we're embedding mathematical models of the electrochemistry into the control system. What that does is it means you can better see inside what's happening with the battery and operate it closer to its performance limits.
Ethan: This is Ethan Elkind of Climate Break, bringing you 90 seconds of climate solutions. For further information on Moura’s work at UC Berkeley, and for more climate solutions, go to climatebreak.org or wherever you get your podcasts.