Traditional fuel-powered automobiles, powered by internal combustion engines, give higher mileage on highways than city roads.

It could be expected that a fully charged battery electric vehicle should be able to drive longer on a highway compared to the city. However, the reality is just the opposite, says a UWindsor engineering professor.

In an article published last week in the Conversation, Balakumar Balasingam, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, reports that experiments at the battery management systems research lab found that electric vehicles need more electrical current on highways compared to city streets because the average speed on the highway is higher. Also, their batteries become less efficient at high currents due to energy loss.

Read his entire article, “Batteries in electric vehicles have more mileage in city driving rather than highway driving,” in the Conversation, which publishes news and views from the academic and research community.