New ‘All-Climate Battery’ could keep EVs running in extreme heat, cold

Researchers at Penn State have developed a novel lithium-ion battery design called the All-Climate Battery (ACB) to overcome the limitations of standard lithium-ion batteries in extreme temperatures. Traditional lithium-ion batteries are optimized for around 25°C and suffer from power loss in cold conditions and instability in hot environments, which poses challenges for applications like electric vehicles, data centers, and other large-scale systems. The current workaround involves bulky, energy-intensive external heating and cooling systems that only allow operation between -30°C and 45°C. The ACB employs a dual-strategy approach to address these issues. First, it replaces the volatile liquid electrolyte with more stable materials to enhance safety and performance at high temperatures. Second, it integrates an internal heating element—a thin nickel foil film powered by the battery itself—to maintain optimal temperatures in cold conditions without compromising material stability. This built-in thermal management reduces space, power consumption, and maintenance, offering significant cost savings for large battery-dependent facilities. The resulting battery is expected to operate