ANCHORAGE, Alaska: As cold temperatures limit the traveling range of electric vehicle (EV) batteries and the acceptance of electric cars, trucks and buses, automakers and scientists at universities are racing to perfect new battery chemistries that are more efficient in cold weather, than are current lithium-ion systems.

"It is a problem to have batteries in cold weather, and we have a pretty cold climate, one of the coldest in North America," said Stretch Blackard, owner of Alaska's Tok Transportation, which contracts electric buses for local schools, as reported by the Associated Press.

When the temperature hits zero, the cost of running Tok's electric bus doubles and the town has among the highest electricity prices in the nation, he said.

In the coldest weather, 0 down to minus 10 F (-18 to -23 C) the electric bus costs roughly $1.15 per mile, versus 40 cents per mile for a diesel bus, Blackard added.

The cost of the electric bus drops to about 90 cents a mile when it is warm, but he says the costs make it unworkable and he would not buy another one, he added.

As their vehicles can lose anywhere from 10 to 36 percent of their range, many owners of personal EVs also struggle with long-distance wintertime travel.

"When temperatures drop to the 10-20 F range (minus 7 to minus 12 C), I see typically more than 20 percent degradation in range, as well as charging time. I go from about 250 miles of range to about 200," said Mark Gendregske of Alger, Michigan, as reported by the Associated Press.

Some 75 percent of this loss of range is result from running the vehicle's hearting system to keep occupants warm, while speed and driving on freeways are also factors.

By comparison, gasoline engines only lose some 15 percent of their range in the cold.

However, the range loss issue has not slowed EV purchases in Norway, where nearly 80 percent of new vehicle sales were electric in 2022.

"The issue is unproblematic as long as drivers take it into account when planning a trip. The big issue really is to get enough charging stations along the road and better information on whether they are working properly," said Nils Soedal, from Noway's Automobile Federation.

Last week, GM sent some of its EVs from Detroit to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to test the impact of cold weather on battery range.

Despite stopping twice to charge its battery, a GMC Hummer pickup, with around 329 miles of range per charge, made the 315 mile trip to Sault Ste. Marie with only about 35 miles left, only enough to reach GM's test facility.

Chemists at universities are also developing new technologies that could prevent cold weather battery loss.

The University of Michigan is developing new battery designs that enable fast charging in the cold, and expects improvements to find their way from labs into vehicles in the next two to five years.