CATL, one of the strongest Chinese and global companies for the development and production of batteries for electric vehicles, has issued an explanation as to why electric car drivers often complain that the highway range is almost cut in half. According to the company, the problem is not that the battery capacity is falsely declared, but in driving conditions that seriously increase energy consumption.
The biggest culprit is air resistance. The higher the speed, the car has to overcome significantly higher and stronger air resistance, and the required power increases much faster than the speed itself. According to CATL data, when the speed increases from 60 to 90 km/h, air resistance becomes twice as high, while the power required to overcome it increases 3.4 times.
At 120 km/h the difference becomes even more pronounced. Air resistance then increases four times, and the consumption of power required to maintain speed increases eight times. This means that at higher speeds, the electric car does not just consume a little more energy, but enters a zone where the consumption increases many times over.
Electric cars lose their range the most on the highway due to air resistance
Another reason is the operation of the electric motor and battery at high load. On the highway, the engine runs longer at higher power, which directly affects higher energy consumption. At the same time, the high current discharge heats the battery, so the cooling system is activated. It also consumes electricity, which creates a vicious circle: the faster the car is driven, the more the battery heats up, and cooling further increases consumption.
CATLThe third factor is the consumers in the cabin. The air conditioner is the biggest additional consumer and can consume around 2 kW. Music, navigation and other systems individually consume less, but during a long drive they also contribute to the overall decrease in range.
CATL also used the explanation to highlight its own battery technologies. The third generation Qilin battery reportedly reaches an energy density of 280 Wh/kg, reduces the weight of the vehicle by 255 kilograms and reduces consumption by six percent per 100 kilometers. The company also states that lighter composite materials and aluminum alloys allow for a thinner construction, with a local thickness of only 91.64 mm.
The Shenxing battery targets another problem, namely internal resistance and heating. CATL claims its LFP cells have an average internal resistance of 0.25 mΩ, which is 50 percent less than the industry average. Less resistance means less heating, and a special cooling solution around the hottest parts of the cell increases the cooling efficiency by 20 percent.
Finally, CATL advises electric car drivers to keep the speed between 100 and 110 km/h on the highway, as this is the best ratio of travel time and consumption. The air conditioner should be set to automatic mode between 24 and 26 degrees, unnecessary things should be thrown out of the trunk, and charging should be planned as soon as the battery drops below 30 percent.
The message is clear: electric cars on the highway do not lose range because the battery “disappears overnight”, but because high speed, battery heating and additional consumers combine to create much more demanding driving conditions. To all that, we should add the aerodynamics of the vehicle, the SUV construction, which in turn increase resistance and consumption.