Understanding the aging mechanism for lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) is crucial for optimizing the battery operation in real-life applications. This article gives a systematic description of the LiBs aging in real-life electric vehicle (EV) applications. First, the characteristics of the common EVs and the lithium-ion chemistries used in these applications are described. The battery operation in EVs is then classified into three modes: charging, standby, and driving, which are subsequently described. Finally, the aging behavior of LiBs in the actual charging, standby, and driving modes are reviewed, and the influence of different working conditions are considered. The degradation mechanisms of cathode, electrolyte, and anode during those processes are also discussed. Thus, a systematic analysis of the aging mechanisms of LiBs in real-life EV applications is achieved, providing practical guidance, methods to prolong the battery life for users, battery designers, vehicle manufacturers, and material recovery companies.

Lithium-ion batteries have good performance and environmentally friendly characteristics, so they have great potential. However, lithium-ion batteries will age to varying degrees during use, and the process is irreversible. There are many aging mechanisms of lithium batteries. In order to better verify the internal changes of lithium batteries when they are aging, post-mortem analysis has been greatly developed. In this article, we summarized the electrical properties analysis and post-mortem analysis of lithium batteries developed in recent years and compared the advantages of varieties of both destructive and non-destructive methods, for example, open-circuit-voltage curve-based analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. On this basis, new ideas could be proposed for predicting and diagnosing the aging degree of lithium batteries, at the same time, further implementation of these technologies will support battery life control strategies and battery design.