With humanity’s decarbonization process and our switch to electric vehicles also comes the issue of range. We’re witnessing continuous competition between manufacturers that struggle to add more miles per charge. A new type of battery could at least solve the problem of recharging, with the companies that developed it claiming it can be fully charged in just 90 seconds.
Mahle Powertrain and Allotrope Energy have teamed up to develop a battery technology that can deliver a full charge of the battery in the same amount of time required to refuel your petrol-guzzling car.
According to Mahle, it is a lithium-carbon technology that combines conventional lithium-ion batteries with the benefits of supercapacitors, resulting in an ultra-fast charging cell that can also retain good energy density. The battery cell remains stable even at high temperatures and allows for fast recharging without needing complex external cooling.
Moreover, it has a better life expectancy compared with traditional batteries, ensuring more than 100,000 cycles. And after it is no longer useful, the battery won’t harm the environment as it is designed to be fully recyclable.
For their project, the two companies imagined a scenario involving a fast-food delivery service with a 15.5-mile (25-km) target range, which uses electric mopeds that pack a 500 Wh conventional battery. With this conventional lithium-ion battery pack, the vehicle would run out of power and require a recharge mid-shift. And it would need more than half an hour to recharge, even with a fast charger. Not to mention the lifespan of the battery, which would have to be replaced in a year or two.
On the other hand, the new battery technology would have the e-moped up and running in just 90 seconds, just in time for the next delivery to be collected. The lithium-carbon battery could be recharged at 20 kW.
We have no information yet about the next step Mahle Powertrain and Allotrope Energy plan to take, as the study was just presented this week, at the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle event held in the U.K.
According to Mahle, it is a lithium-carbon technology that combines conventional lithium-ion batteries with the benefits of supercapacitors, resulting in an ultra-fast charging cell that can also retain good energy density. The battery cell remains stable even at high temperatures and allows for fast recharging without needing complex external cooling.
Moreover, it has a better life expectancy compared with traditional batteries, ensuring more than 100,000 cycles. And after it is no longer useful, the battery won’t harm the environment as it is designed to be fully recyclable.
For their project, the two companies imagined a scenario involving a fast-food delivery service with a 15.5-mile (25-km) target range, which uses electric mopeds that pack a 500 Wh conventional battery. With this conventional lithium-ion battery pack, the vehicle would run out of power and require a recharge mid-shift. And it would need more than half an hour to recharge, even with a fast charger. Not to mention the lifespan of the battery, which would have to be replaced in a year or two.
On the other hand, the new battery technology would have the e-moped up and running in just 90 seconds, just in time for the next delivery to be collected. The lithium-carbon battery could be recharged at 20 kW.
We have no information yet about the next step Mahle Powertrain and Allotrope Energy plan to take, as the study was just presented this week, at the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle event held in the U.K.