Controllable Electrode Stochasticity Self-Heats Lithium-Ion Batteries at Low Temperatures

Cold start is an ineluctable stipulation for electric vehicle operation under low-temperature extremes. It has typically been addressed through cell-level heating strategies. We advocate an electrode-level strategy leveraging pore-scale manifestation of thermal metastability that promotes self-heating. Appropriate controllable stochastic characteristics of porous electrodes are delineated, which contribute to the proposed solution at low temperatures. This approach is most conducive to high-energy-density Li-ion cells and devoid of extrinsic overheads.