Thought about an electric vehicle? The future of EVs are being pioneered here

Video: Idaho National Laboratory is a driving force in electrical vehicle battery and infrastructure research. | Jordan Wood and David Pace, EastIdahoNews.com. Photo: Research Engineer Benny Varghese describes how the lab helps to test and develop electric vehicle chargers for deployment nationwide. | Jordan Wood, EastIdahoNews.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: EastIdahoNews.com is working with Idaho National Laboratory to celebrate its 75th anniversary. Each month, we’ll highlight the history, achievements and trials of the U.S. Department of Energy’s desert site. We’ll explore the INL’s influence on eastern Idaho and its impact on local people.

IDAHO FALLS — Sleek cars that drive themselves, rev silently and accelerate like a dream — after taking a test drive in a Tesla Model Y, it’s easy to see why electric vehicles account for one in five of vehicle sales in 2024.

“The idea of being transported around by electricity — it’s a pretty phenomenal idea to not have to go to a gas station and be able to just cruise around in an electrified vehicle,” said Idaho National Laboratory Chemist and Engineer Pete Barnes.

Idaho National Laboratory researchers are helping power an electric vehicle revolution on American highways and roads.

At the nation’s premiere Battery Test Center in Idaho Falls, engineers and scientists develop and test advanced batteries for the EV engines of the future. Nearby, at the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Laboratory, or EVIL Lab, researchers are advancing technologies for the nationwide infrastructure of charging stations being deployed to support America’s growing electric fleet.

The capabilities of today’s electric vehicles are stunning.

Barnes’ car steers itself with its Autopilot program.

Once Barnes plugs in a destination, the car brakes at red lights, detects incoming traffic, merges lanes on 17th Street, turns into Snake River Landing and parks itself near an electric vehicle charging station — without any assistance from the driver. (Legally, the operator has to keep his or her hands on the steering wheel and maintain control of the vehicle.)

Additionally, the savings from not purchasing gasoline quickly add up for local EV commuters.

“In Idaho, it’s really cheap to drive one. We have some of the lowest electrical costs in the United States,” Barnes said. “To drive to work, I spend like $2 a month or $3 a month.”

About 17 million electric vehicles will be sold worldwide in 2024, according to the International Energy Association.

From Telsa Cybertrucks and Model Ys, to Ford Mustang Mach-Es and F-150 Lightnings, the dramatic shift in consumer preferences, purchases and driving habits is fueling demand for INL’s research.

Battery Test Center

As the nation’s “most comprehensive” battery research laboratory, the 17,500-square-foot Battery Test Center features more than 700 channels or connections that can test hundreds of batteries simultaneously.

“This is … where we do all the electrochemical testing of batteries that we either receive here at INL or develop here at INL,” Barnes said. “We are kind of a one-stop shop for developing new materials for batteries and implementing them for the future state-of-the-art batteries.”

Inside the 91,000-square-foot Energy Systems Laboratory building at 750 MK Simpson Boulevard, scientists provide companies across the United States with real-time data and results.

The center also tests commercial batteries to “model their behavior,” extend their life, and measure how long they last at different temperatures and conditions.

Scientists can analyze batteries’ capabilities in hot and cold weather and determine how long batteries should be charged for optimum performance and life.

“We can really fine tune and understand what’s happening inside the battery that’s causing it to fail or to perform well,” Barnes said. “Should you be charging between 100 and 0%, or should you be charging between 80 and 20%?”

He said the researchers examine how the materials in the battery react, age and interact as thousands of layers are combined first into cells and then into packs.

The INL engineers test batteries of all sizes and shapes — from cellphones and key fobs to large electric vehicle packs.

“We go from single-cell batteries that we test inside these small chambers all the way to this very large chamber where we can control the temperature and actually fit a car,” he said.

“If we’re doing fundamental research, it’s more about discovering new materials and how they are interacting in the battery’s chemistry to provide higher power … and more energy,” Barnes said.

Their goal is to improve battery life so EV users can expand their range from “300 miles per charge up to 500 or 600 miles per charge.”

Barnes specifically is researching new lithium metal batteries that are lighter than the lithium-ion batteries currently used.

“Every time we can lower the weight of the battery and still deliver the same amount of energy, that overall gives us the ability to transport your material, transport a car further,” he said.

Scientists in the lab’s Energy Storage Group test how new “electrolyte combinations of zinc and carbon, zinc and magnesium dioxide, lead-acid and lithium ions” enhance battery performance and capacity, an INL handout states. The team includes chemical, mechanical, material and electrical engineers.

“It’s really exciting to know that you’re at the forefront of what could be available for technology in the future,” Barnes said.

Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Laboratory

Scientists and engineers work on another team at the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Laboratory or EVIL Lab.

“We get to call ourselves EVIL scientists,” INL Research Engineer Benny Varghese said, laughing.

Behind the fun acronym, this lab’s research is laser-focused on creating the infrastructure required to support electric vehicles nationwide.

“Here at the lab, we do a lot of testing, evaluation and development for electric vehicle chargers,” he explained.

The number of EV chargers in America has nearly doubled over the past four years. More than 183,000 public chargers are now available at charging stations across the United States, the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation reports.

“Recently, we’ve been working on helping improve the reliability of charging stations,” Varghese said.

It can be a hassle if multiple EV drivers show up at a station and one or more chargers doesn’t function, he explained.

The goal is to make the EV charging experience as reliable as refueling a car at a gas station.

INL and other national labs partner with more than 80 industry members as part of a ChargeX Charging Experience Consortium to improve product quality and reliability.

“It’s still a relatively new industry. It’s only four or five years old in terms of mass market, production and deployment,” Varghese said. “So it will take some time. There are some growing pains.”

The laboratory also researches new innovative technologies such as wireless charging, vehicle-to-grid applications and charger cybersecurity.

“Your phones today have wireless charging,” Varghese said. “Most of them, you just put them on a charging pad, and they can receive power without having to be plugged in. The same technology exists for electric vehicles.”

INL engineers were heavily involved testing wireless charging for EVs to standardize the technology, he said.

They also researched applications for electric vehicle batteries as backup energy sources to help power a home or even return power to the grid “without having to increase generation at a power plant,” Varghese said.

Additionally, the lab evaluates charger cybersecurity.

“You’re going to have hundreds of thousands of these chargers connected to the grid and connected to vehicles. So what happens if a network … or a group of chargers were to be compromised by bad actors?” Varghese asked. “We do a lot of testing from our site to see what vulnerabilities exist and how we can compromise the chargers.”

The engineers then recommend security solutions to charger manufacturers so they can address potential problems before they occur.

Today, more than 4.5 million electric vehicles are on American highways, roads and infrastructure.

INL’s groundbreaking research is directly advancing the batteries and infrastructure required for the electric vehicles of tomorrow.

“Everybody wants to be traveling around with their electronics,” Barnes said. “As long as we can get high power and high energy out of the batteries, the applications are kind of endless in technology.”