Abstract

In great part due to their unsurpassed energy density, lithium ion batteries are the chemistry of choice for elec-tric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (EV, PHEV) such as the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. However, signifi-cant challenges remain in the practical implementation of Li-ion technology in automotive applications. Some of these challenges include safety issues related to large format cell design, development of thermal management strategies to mitigate cell degradation and thermal runa-way that occur under certain conditions, and poor cell performance at low temperature [1,2,3,4]. In this work, using EC Power’s software in the loop AutoLion tool, we investigate the effects of various startup procedures on Li-ion battery performance. In par-ticular, we focus on low temperature conditions, which