Fast charging electric cars: myth or real battery damage?

There is a widespread belief among electric car owners that regular use of fast charging damages the battery and accelerates its degradation. However, a long-term and thorough study by the American company Recurrent has shown somewhat different results.

Global Electric wrote about it.

What did the study show?

Recurrent experts in the United States examined 13,059 Tesla electric cars and surveyed their owners. Some of the cars were regularly (more than 70% of cases) charged at commercial fast charging stations, while the rest were mainly charged at home (less than 30% of fast charges).

The horizontal axis shows the time of observations, which lasted almost nine years. On the vertical axis, the blue and orange curves show how much the actual (ready-to-use) energy in the batteries differs from the theoretical value. 

The graph shows that the orange curve has many peaks, but it almost completely overlaps with the blue curve. Therefore, there is a difference between the two charging modes, but it is insignificant and does not increase over time. Thus, fast charging has no noticeable effect on the condition of electric car batteries.

Tesla claims that the batteries in its electric cars lose 12% of their capacity after 320,000 km of mileage. Researchers say that in real-world conditions, the manufacturer's electric car batteries lose capacity at approximately the same rate as claimed.

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How to charge your car

Experts advise choosing the charging method that best suits the needs and schedule of the electric car owner. Fast charging is a good option when time is limited, and, according to experts, it is completely safe for the battery.

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The truth about driving electric cars in summer