As electric vehicles (EVs) expand in number and use, attention has shifted from simply deploying batteries to understanding how their operation affects durability and sustainability. Battery ageing determines how long a pack can remain useful in a vehicle, how often replacements are needed, and what environmental impacts accumulate over the lifecycle. A recent review by Jennifer Leijon (2025) synthesizes existing research on how charging strategies influence battery ageing.1 This article summarizes the key findings, focusing on how operational decisions, charging infrastructure, and thermal management can support longer-lasting EV batteries.
Image Credit: Makhh/Shutterstock.com
What Battery Ageing Means
Battery ageing in EVs is usually measured through state of health (SOH), which combines two main indicators:
- Capacity fade: Reduction in how much energy the battery can store.
- Resistance growth: Increase in internal resistance, which limits power output and efficiency.
Underlying mechanisms include growth of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, mechanical stress in electrodes, electrolyte breakdown, and lithium plating on the anode. These processes accelerate under certain conditions, especially high temperature, high state of charge (SOC), and high charging rates.
Fast Charging and Its Effects
Fast charging is valued for user convenience, but it introduces specific risks.
High current inflows raise cell temperatures and, in some cases, lead to lithium plating when charging at low temperatures or high SOC. This plating reduces capacity and can create safety concerns.
The review emphasizes that fast charging is not inherently damaging when managed correctly. Measures such as thermal pre-conditioning in cold weather, active cooling during charging in hot conditions, and tapered current profiles that reduce current as SOC rises can limit degradation.
State of Charge Management
One of the most consistent findings across studies is the advantage of operating batteries within moderate SOC ranges, often around 20–80 percent. High SOC storage accelerates unwanted side reactions and structural changes, while deep cycles from nearly empty to full impose more stress on electrode materials. Charging strategies that avoid long periods at very high SOC, or that only reach full charge when needed for long trips, extend battery life without substantially reducing usability.
Temperature as a Central Factor
Temperature strongly influences calendar ageing (time-based degradation) and cycle ageing (charge/discharge-driven degradation).
- High temperatures speed up chemical side reactions and SEI growth.
- Low temperatures increase resistance and make lithium plating during charging more likely.
Thermal management systems, whether pre-heating before fast charging in winter or cooling during summer, are essential for minimizing degradation.
Smart Charging and Timing
The review highlights that charging schedules can serve both grid and battery needs. For example:
- Aligning charging with periods of renewable energy availability reduces emissions.
- Finishing charging close to a driver’s planned departure time reduces dwell time at high SOC.
Smart charging systems that integrate departure scheduling and renewable integration can help balance sustainability across battery and energy systems.
Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Use
Bidirectional charging, or vehicle-to-grid (V2G), is sometimes viewed as harmful to batteries because it adds cycling. Leijon’s review suggests that the impact depends heavily on how it is managed.
High-depth, frequent V2G cycles can increase wear, but controlled V2G that operates in mid-SOC ranges, with shallow cycles and temperature management, has only modest effects on ageing. This means V2G can be feasible when carefully controlled and may still support broader energy system goals.
Practices That Support Battery Longevity
Across the reviewed studies, several charging practices consistently appear beneficial. Using mid-range SOC for daily driving while reserving 100% charges for long trips reduces stress on electrode materials. Relying on AC or lower-power DC charging for routine use also helps, with fast charging reserved for necessity rather than daily practice.
Allowing the battery management system (BMS) to taper charging near high SOC levels, scheduling charging to complete shortly before use rather than leaving the vehicle fully charged overnight, and enabling thermal management features during charging in extreme temperatures all contribute to slower capacity fade and more stable long-term operation.1
Click here to download a PDF copy of this page
Implications for Stakeholders
The implications of these findings differ across stakeholder groups. The key practices for drivers and fleet operators are to keep daily SOC targets moderate, precondition batteries before using fast chargers in cold climates, and avoid leaving vehicles fully charged in direct sunlight in hot climates.
Automakers and system designers can play a central role by providing user-friendly SOC limit settings and departure scheduling features, improving integration between thermal management and charging control, and refining taper profiles to minimize lithium plating risks in cold conditions. For utilities and policymakers, designing smart charging programs that reduce grid strain while also limiting high-SOC dwell is important. If V2G is promoted, constraints on SOC windows and temperatures should be implemented, and policies should support data sharing and independent research to refine degradation models.1
Sustainability Considerations
Charging practices influence vehicle performance and environmental outcomes. Longer battery life reduces demand for new packs, lowering impacts from mining and manufacturing.
Batteries retired with higher SOH are more suitable for second-life applications in stationary storage, extending their usefulness and reducing waste. In addition, smart charging that aligns with renewable energy generation reduces emissions during the use phase. In this way, battery-friendly charging strategies support broader sustainability goals beyond the immediate performance of the vehicle.1
Conclusion
Battery ageing is shaped by how, when, and under what conditions charging occurs.
Leijon’s 2025 review underscores three recurring principles: keep batteries within moderate SOC ranges, manage temperature carefully, and limit extreme charging conditions. While fast charging and V2G introduce additional stress, both can be managed through thoughtful design and operational policies. For drivers, automakers, and policymakers, adopting these practices can extend battery life, improve reliability, and reduce the environmental footprint of EV adoption.
Reference
- Leijon, J. (2025). Charging strategies and battery ageing for electric vehicles: A review. Energy Strategy Reviews, 57, 101641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2025.101641
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.