Although the first modern-day electric car was created back in the ’90s, many still have questions regarding clean-powered vehicles, almost 30 years later — specifically in relation to EV batteries. Traditional gas-powered cars run on gas and lead-acid batteries, whereas EVs run on electricity and a different type battery that eventually dies after a certain number of years. But what are EV batteries made of, and what happens to them when they’re no longer usable? Keep reading for everything you need to know regarding electric vehicle batteries — this may be a useful reference for when your state’s government (hopefully) bans the production of gas-powered cars in the foreseeable future. What is an electric car battery made of? There are many similarities between traditional gas-powered cars and electric cars in terms of how they operate. But, they run on vastly different types of energy (nonrenewable gas versus renewable electric energy), and they’re powered by different types of batteries. As previously mentioned, gas-powered cars generally run on lead-acid batteries, while most new electric cars run on lithium-ion batteries, according to Motor Biscuit, which will live for about 200,000 miles or around 17 years. Similar to the batteries that power your laptops and cell phones, lithium-ion batteries are found beneath the interior carriage, and they’re composed of hundreds of individual lithium-ion cells, according to BBC News. Electric car batteries are larger than that of a gas powered car, they’re quite heavy, and if dismantled or removed improperly, they can unfortunately explode or ignite. Read more: Electric Car Batteries: What They’re Made Of, What Happens to Them, and More |