How a lot does an electrical automobile’s battery efficiency change in scorching climate? How about chilly?

If somebody drives aggressively in an EV, how does that have an effect on the battery life?

How a lot do variations in battery supplies make a distinction in how an EV performs in varied situations?

Researchers and producers have partial solutions to those questions primarily based on the information they’ve collected. But they might know way more in the event that they shared their knowledge in codecs all of them may perceive.

This is the premise behind the Battery Data Genome, a brand new initiative led by Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois and Idaho National Laboratory, amongst others. The identify is a reference to the Human Genome Project, a monumental data-sharing undertaking launched in 1990 that contributed to improvements in medical science.

“It’s going to take a lot of data, data from a lot of sources,” mentioned George Crabtree, a distinguished fellow at Argonne and director of the Department of Energy’s Joint Center for Energy Storage Research.

Crabtree is considered one of greater than two dozen co-authors of a paper printed this month within the journal Joule asserting the undertaking. Regular readers will acknowledge him as somebody I typically ask to assist translate battery science into plain language.

The Battery Data Genome will gather data from each a part of the battery life cycle, together with fundamental knowledge like how batteries reply to several types of charging and discharging, and extra variables like the consequences of temperature, driving velocity, and variations within the supplies throughout the batteries.

The individuals embody nationwide labs, like Argonne and Idaho, and anybody else who desires to affix, which may embody universities, automakers, and different companies. The companions can select how a lot they need to share.

“I think one of the things that everyone realizes is that some will be reluctant to join, because, you know, it compromises their secrets, trade secrets, and that’s OK,” Crabtree mentioned. “It’s kind of an open decision for anyone who wishes to participate.”

The undertaking is aiming to create a typical set of requirements for a way battery knowledge is formatted, so everyone seems to be talking the equal of the identical language.

This story initially appeared on Inside Climate News.