4. Battery Electric Vehicles: Technologies, Challenges and Future Prospects for Sustainable Transportation

Electric vehicles are rapidly gaining popularity, primarily due to their relatively low emissions and the advancements in clean energy generation for transportation. Despite this, challenges remain, such as the limited infrastructure for electrification and concerns over energy storage systems. However, electric vehicles represent a promising future for sustainable transport, offering a key solution to the limitations of traditional powertrain systems. The technology behind electric vehicles is still evolving, presenting challenges in both technological development and the strategic supply chain. Nevertheless, advancements in communication technologies and new innovations enabling the integration of various subsystems across different vehicle domains have created opportunities to enhance the overall performance and efficiency of electric vehicles. Integration is no longer limited to the vehicle itself; researchers are now exploring ways to connect vehicles and fleets to the power grid. These advancements are not confined to high-level integration alone. There have also been significant improvements in lower-tier components, such as semiconductors, battery materials, and the construction of electric machines. As a result, the electric vehicle sector has become a rapidly growing and highly regarded field within engineering. In this chapter, we introduce the prospects and challenges facing the development of battery electric vehicles. We begin with an overview of the relevant technologies, followed by a presentation of different electric vehicles architectures. A detailed discussion of the key subsystems follows, including the electric drive unit, energy storage systems, power electronics, charging systems, and supervisory controllers. The challenges associated with each category are explored, along with the technologies that address them. Finally, we consider the future potential of electric vehicle technologies and highlight relevant research directions for each area.