New Record-Crushing Battery Lasts 1.2 Million Miles in Electric Cars

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

New Record-Crushing Battery Lasts 1.2 Million Miles in Electric Cars:

Electric cars had their biggest year ever in 2019. As of the end of the year, 2.5 percent of the world's total cars were electric. It's a small percentage, but represents significant growth for the electric vehicle industry.

Before electric cars become more widespread, they have some technological hurdles left to clear, including the distance drivers can go before having to re-charge the car's battery (also known as range anxiety!), and the life of the battery itself. Range currently runs from around 100 miles on the low end up to 200+ miles [see note 1] in newer models, and most warranties run out after 150,000 miles or 8 years.

The latter figures are about to get a big boost after an announcement this week from Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL). The company says it has new battery technology that lasts up to 1.2 million miles (2 million kilometers) and 16 years-and it's ready to manufacture the batteries on demand.

[...] The battery uses lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) for its cathode (positively-charged electrode) and artificial graphite for its anode (negatively-charged electrode). The cathodes of existing batteries use small NMC crystals, but this one uses larger crystals, resulting in a structure that one researcher explained is less likely to develop cracks while the battery charges; that was one of the primary improvements contributing to a longer overall lifespan.

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