How Are EV Batteries Made?

Power packs are complex in some ways and simple in others.

Benjamin Hunting | 

Jan 27, 2025 | 3 min read

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Ingredients for an EV Battery

Lithium-ion batteries are the dominant design used in modern electric vehicles. Some designs include lithium, nickel, manganese, and cobalt oxide (NMC); others include aluminum (NMCA), as well. A technology used more often in China mixes lithium with iron and phosphate (LFP).

Each of these battery types has strengths and weaknesses. NMC batteries, which are among the most common, have a higher energy density but tend to wear more rapidly when charged and discharged over time. LFPs are more resistant to damage but are less dense in terms of energy storage.

How Are EV Batteries Manufactured?

The battery's minerals — attained from mining ore — are used to create the cathode and the anode for each battery cell, which sit in a solution of electrolytes. These represent the two poles inside a cell, with energy flowing from the positive electrode (the cathode) to the negative electrode (the anode) during the chemical reaction that occurs while a battery is being charged. When the battery discharges, the flow is reversed.

The cells can take on a number of different shapes, but they are primarily found as cylinders — resembling an AA battery — or in prismatic or pouchlike forms. Although the materials and shapes might be different, constructing an individual battery cell is highly similar to building a single AA battery. The key difference is that an EV battery is actually hundreds of these small battery cells grouped.

What's Inside an EV Battery Pack?

Battery cells are organized into modules, which are controlled via software and work together to provide the energy needed to power an EV. Each cell is also managed to protect it from the damaging effects of heat over years of charging and discharging.

These collected modules are known as battery packs. They include materials and systems designed to help manage heat; the connectors that link the pack to the vehicle's charging system and electric motors; the communications hardware that links them to the computerized control system; and, of course, the shell that keeps everything together.

What Is the Road Ahead for Batteries?

Battery technology is constantly being researched, tested, and improved. Those developing next-generation EV batteries are generally looking to reduce charge times and improve the amount of energy density, which in turn improves the performance and range of electric automobiles.

Some of the new battery chemistries being explored remove the need for rare cobalt; introduce carbon nanotubes; and may use silicon and solid-state glass, polymer, and ceramic to help make batteries denser, quicker to charge, and cleaner energy storage. Standardization of battery-cell production also holds the promise of streamlining and reducing the costs of production.

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Benjamin Hunting

Nearly two decades into his career as an automotive journalist, Benjamin has had his hands greasy, his hair blown back, and his heart broken by more than one project car. In addition to his work at Capital One, he has contributed features and reviews to Motor Trend, Car and Driver, Hagerty, Driving Line, Inside Hook, Super Street, European Car, Roadkill Magazine, Motor 1, The Drive, the Toronto Star, the National Post, Business Insider, NAPA, Autoblog, Automotive News Canada, and AutoGuide. He is also cohost of the Unnamed Automotive Podcast and cocreator of the Code 45 and Dead Air graphic novels. In his spare time, he's a friend to vinyl and enjoys keeping the shiny side up during track days.