How do electric vehicle batteries work?

The individual cells in most rechargeable EV batteries today have the same basic components: Electrodes, electrolyte and separator. The positive electrode is called the cathode; the negative electrode is the anode.

The cathode is the single most expensive element, accounting for up to a third of the cost of a battery cell. Most lithium ion batteries today use one of two types of cathodes: Nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) or lithium iron phosphate (LFP).

When the battery is being used — and its stored energy is being discharged — tiny particles (called ions) inside the battery travel from the anode to the cathode, through a chemical solution called the electrolyte,