Evaluation of LiFePO4 Batteries for Electric Vehicle Applications

In the last few years, several Li-ion battery technologies have been studied and developed for their use in electric vehicles (EVs). Among them, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are considered a promising battery technology for EVs, due to their key advantages, such as cycle life, efficiency, and reliability, to name a few. This paper evaluates several commercial LFP batteries, studied under various testing scenarios, including cycle life, energy efficiency, power capability, or internal resistance test. The obtained results are compared with the long-term U.S. Advanced Consortium (USABC) goals, in order to validate the feasibility of this technology for its use in EVs. We found that although the tested LFP batteries successfully met some important USABC goals, there are still several technical challenges to be addressed, such as the increase of the energy density or the reduction of the final cost.