This book is a guide to batteries used in electric vehicles. The strength of the book lies in its simplicity and clarity. Its audience is beginning researchers and those in industry seeking practical information and guidance in the design of batteries for electric vehicles. Unburdened by heavy data, the book illustrates many concepts using only schematic diagrams that are relevant to a wide range of batteries and show general trends.

The book is divided into three major parts: basics, lithium-ion batteries, and battery usage in electric vehicles. Part I, consisting of two chapters, benefits from the author’s academic background. The first chapter explains cell components and electrochemistry. The explanation of typical discharge profiles as a practical application of Gibbs phase rule is an example of the author’s approach. These fundamentals are linked to materials in the second chapter, which briefly describes eight battery types: lead-acid, nickel metal hydride, lithium, high-temperature molten, nickel-zinc, zinc-air, metal-ion, and redox flow. Supercapacitors and fuel cells are also included in this chapter.

Part II has an extended chapter on lithium battery materials and another chapter on cell design. The author makes use of her industrial background in describing how cells are designed for energy or power, the tradeoffs involved, and how performance depends on particle size, porosity and thickness of electrodes, and on the type of cell—cylindrical, prismatic, or pouch. She succinctly describes the manufacturing process of lithium-ion cells.

Part III considers the specific battery requirements at different levels of electrification—all electrics, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids. The battery contains not only cells, but also a thermal system, electronics, and a management system. These are described in chapters 5 and 6 from a design point of view with clear terminology and a glossary in the appendix. The degradation of the battery due to loss of cyclable lithium and of active electrode material, nonoptimal cycling, temperature outside the design range, overcharge, and overdischarge and current rate are discussed in chapter 7. Degradation mechanisms of lithium-ion cells and methods of failure analysis are also discussed.

This book is recommended as supplementary reading in a senior undergraduate or graduate-level course and as a primer on design and for getting practical information on batteries for electric vehicles. There are no homework exercises and only eight references in the entire book; therefore, it may not serve as a textbook in spite of its clarity. However, it achieves its intended purpose of enabling the reader to make informed choices to optimize battery performance.

Reviewer: N. Balasubramanian works in the area of ultrafine-grain materials, energy storage, and materials innovation in Bangalore, India.