1. Background and definitions

1.1 Context

Electrified motor vehicles (in the sense of Electric Vehicles EV and Hybrid Electric Vehicles HEV) now account for a significant share of the global automotive market (around 21% of sales, depending on the definition chosen). All these electrified vehicles use a specific battery (a pack) whose performance must be much better than that of traditional Pb-acid batteries. For HEVs that don't require a large energy reserve, Ni-MH (Nickel-Metal-Hydride) batteries are still the main type used. On the other hand, for both "all-electric" and "plug-in" HEVs, Li-ion technologies have come to the fore, mainly for reasons of higher specific energy (Wh/kg). In these cases, the battery pack represents a significant part of the vehicle's value (up to more than 30%), and its ageing becomes...