If you’ve looked into EVs, you’ve likely heard the term “battery degradation,” or how many thousands of dollars it costs to replace one once they’ve kicked the bucket. The high initial costs, elevated insurance rates, and state taxes have fueled apprehension about EV adoption, making them a costly choice.

However, some good news for those on the electric fence came out of the San Franciso Bay Area this week. Two researchers from the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center changed their testing methods, proving that they are far more resilient than previously assumed.

Professor William Chueh, Ph.D, and researcher Alexis Geslin discovered a fundamental flaw in battery testing. Rather than following the traditional cycle of draining, charging, and draining again, they tested batteries in a way that mimics daily driving habits.

“So, more realistic representative of real driving. And, you can see both the voltage response of the battery and the current are very dynamic,” Geslin told ABC 7.

Everyday driving is actually good for EVs

Originally, Chueh and Geslin assumed the test batteries would fail miserably. However, their testing showed EV batteries performed better under normal conditions. Additionally, features like regenerative braking and one-pedal braking add life to them, too.

“And our hypothesis was if you use the battery in the real environment–where there is a lot of frequent charging, frequent discharging–that the battery would have a shorter lifetime,” explained Chueh.

“We were blown away when the result was exactly the opposite, that when we use the batteries in a real fixed setting, the lifetime was much longer than expected.”

A longer-lasting battery could make them more attractive to buyers

With the threat of replacement further ahead than researchers originally thought, Chueh says it could inspire manufacturers to make important changes that would make buyers more confident about buying an EV.

Software can be updated, he said, as well as warranties and technical service bulletins.

“So, I completely agree that affordability drives social acceptance. And in this case, a battery time lifetime is an implicit cost driver,” added Chueh. “So, it’s not something you can put a dollar amount to it on day one. But, if you knew that the battery was going to last 10 years rather than five years, then that’s going to be a significant driver for adoption.”