[RahulNagaraj]

American EV battery manufacturer, Our Next Energy (ONE), has developed an experimental electric vehicle battery called Gemini. The company claims that it offers 1,210 km of range in real-world conditions.



The experimental prototype battery from the Michigan-based company was fitted in a Tesla Model S which then travelled from Detroit to Mackinac Bridge and back during the testing phase in December 2021. The Model S with the prototype battery averaged 88.5 km/h during the entire test run.



ONE also conducted tests inside its factory premises, where the car achieved a higher 1,419 km of range under ideal conditions. The Gemini prototype comes with a 203.7 kWh capacity with a high energy density of 416 Wh/L and is said to make use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help maximise the range.

In comparison, a standard Tesla Model S Plaid Long Range Plus model comes with a 103.9 kWh battery with 652 km of range.



Founded in 2020, ONE is expected to offer its first product, Aries - a 79 kWh battery, sometime later this year. The production prototype of the 203.7 kWh Gemini battery will be introduced in 2023.

Link to Team-BHP news

[G V Krishna]

Good to see that energy density in batteries is increasing. But at what cost?

For Electric Vehicles to be successful, it is not only the range but also the affordability of the vehicle plays a major role. A vehicle with 1000+ KM range doesn't make sense to me when manually driven. We need to consider the Driver's fatigue as well. I would suggest the sweet spot for EV range is 500-600 KMs. This way, the EVs can be more affordable and also 'Practical'. With the advent of super chargers and Development of Electricity Grid Infrastructure (In India & also in US,EU) Super chargers availability at every 100-200 KMs will be soon a reality.

For example, a INR 16 Lakh, ~300KM range Nexon EV is a practical option for city dwellers. But the moment we add more batteries to increase the range to ~500 KM the cost of Nexon pushes to INR 20 Lakhs +, which is absolutely not value for money.

In India, efforts shouldn't be put in increasing the range but should be more focused on improving the Super charger network thereby enabling faster adaptation of the EV revolution. Sooner or later it is the EVs that are going to rule the roads.

[landcruiser123]

Even if that translates to 750 km while driving in real world conditions (75-80 mph), that is a huge success.

Originally Posted by G V Krishna

Good to see that energy density in batteries is increasing. But at what cost?

Any new technology will be very expensive at development/prototype phase. The prices will fall once the tech is validated and there is also mass-market demand. Think about touch screens in phones - hardly anybody had a touch screen phone in 2007. You have them in every device today.

Auto makers will provide both standard & long range options to choose from. Don't worry, the affordable Nexon EV will be on sale. Tata may choose to sell a "Touring" edition with a higher range at a high price.

[Electromotive]

This isn't as impressive as it sounds at first glance. They added an additional ~100 kWh at the cost of 331Kg in added weight. And cell chemistry isn't all that unique either, which is why I couldn't find any patents filed by this company.

The battery system has an energy density of 416 Wh/L (compared to approximately 245 Wh/L of the original pack) and uses a Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese cathode and a graphite anode. The pack added an additional 331 kg in total to the original mass of the battery (and vehicle) while also adding 99.8 kWh of energy. The specific energy density of the pack we tested measured at 231 Wh/kg.

Source

Another company worth looking at is StoreDot, who are using Silicon in the anode to increase energy density but at the same weight. And they have multiple patents.

StoreDot has created these prototype cells with silicon-dominant chemistry in the 4680 format that can be charged to 100% in just 10 minutes.

Silicon-dominant battery chemistry will also allegedly allow greater battery energy density, according to StoreDot. Tesla’s current 2170 cells in the form of the Panasonic 6752 units supplied in US-manufactured Tesla Model 3 cars have an energy density of 260 Wh/kg. StoreDot claims its silicon-dominant battery chemistry will enable 400-450 Wh/kg, which could mean an almost doubling of range for the same weight.

source

[prabhu.reddy92]

So can it be just swapped in place of the original battery?

If companies like these come up with high performance batteries which are easily swapped then I see it's a good market for them and benefits everyone.

[aashishnb]

Originally Posted by Electromotive

This isn't as impressive as it sounds at first glance. They added an additional ~100 kWh at the cost of 331Kg in added weight. And cell chemistry isn't all that unique either, which is why I couldn't find any patents filed by this company.

Exactly what I was thinking. They roughly doubled the battery from 100 to 200 and increased the range a little more than double from 600 to 1300. Good achievement considering the additional weight. But it is like saying you can go 300 km in half tank and 600 km in full tank.

Did they double the battery capacity in the same volume of space? in which case it is a wonderful achievement, irrespective of additional weight !!

[ASHUJNMC]

Now we are seeing some serious efforts and contenders. The only practical problem I see is in recharge of these batteries. They wil take more than 24 hours at home, and even at super charger more than an hour i guess. In that much time Many ICE cars be tank-flled and be ready for journey.

[Early_Adopter]

Originally Posted by G V Krishna

Good to see that energy density in batteries is increasing. But at what cost?


For example, a INR 16 Lakh, ~300KM range Nexon EV is a practical option for city dwellers. But the moment we add more batteries to increase the range to ~500 KM the cost of Nexon pushes to INR 20 Lakhs +, which is absolutely not value for money.

Very well said - the bigger batteries and the longer ranges on a single charge have somehow become bragging points for automakers.

In Petrol/Diesel driven cars, when one undertakes a long trip, the size of the fuel tank does not determine how far one can travel, but availability of fuel stations along the highway determines the distance that can be travelled.

I wonder, if we don't worry so much about how large our petrol tank is while undertaking a long trip, why do we (the EV enthusiasts) give so much importance to how big the battery is, and how far we can go on a singe charge?

Essentially, shouldn't the underlying metric be, as rightly mentioned in the above post, how many chargers are there along the highway and how can we ensure that they are all in working condition? An optimal balance between the range & battery size on one hand and availability of working chargers along the highways on the other hand will ensure that vehicle prices remain affordable in a sustainable manner.

The battery makers, the auto manufacturers want higher range, bigger battery - but what the customer needs is more chargers along the highways - just like fuel stations.

I do acknowledge that the battery technology needs to mature to lessen the time it takes to charge the vehicle at a faster clip.

Cheers