Why don’t lithium-ion batteries work as well in the cold? A battery researcher explains. [Video]

Wesley Chang is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics at Drexel University.

Rechargeable batteries are great for storing energy and powering electronics from smartphones to electric vehicles. In cold environments, however, they can be more difficult to charge and may even catch on fire.

I’m a mechanical engineering professor who’s been interested in batteries since college. I now lead a battery research group at Drexel University.

In just this past decade, I have watched the price of lithium-ion batteries drop as the production market has grown much larger. Future projections predict the market could reach thousands of GWh per year by 2030, a significant increase.

But, lithium-ion batteries aren’t perfect – this rise comes with risks, such as their tendency to slow down during cold weather and even catch on fire.

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