Follow on Google News News By Tag Industry News News By Place Country(s) Industry News
Follow on Google News | EVHUB.IN Exclusive: Affordable EVs with no range anxiety is now reality, 800km per charge achievedThat’s what Dr. Marco Loglio, a die-hard EV enthusiast based in China, believes, having developed a high energy lithium ion battery which can power an EV for 800km
By: EVHUB The 800km EV MLCA’s high energy density lithium polymer battery pack is at the heart of the two prototype vehicles used in the 800km demo road show. The two prototype vehicles are based on Zotye M300 and 5008 EVs respectively. The battery pack is claimed to have an energy density of more than 270Wh/Kg. Dr. Loglio would not disclose much on the battery technology, but on slight insistence, he shared that the battery is based on chemistry similar to that of Tesla battery packs, which are manufactured by Panasonic. The Tesla EV battery cells are fundamentally based on lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), which is the same chemistry used in MLCA’s batteries, though the secret to improved energy density perhaps lies in the dopant used, which is a mixture of nickel, manganese and cobalt (NCM). According to Dr. Loglio, this is the best combination, which has led to such high energy. And it is not just the ‘best’ battery chemistry. Dr. Loglio says the secret to an electric car with a range almost four times of what commercial cars achieve now also li-es in using the best mix of components including the motors and controllers. According to Dr. Loglio, a key point that could perhaps be overlooked by mainstream carmakers is how to use the energy in an electric car most efficiently. “There is a lot of misuse of energy in cars, especially in electric cars. See Tesla: they have used a very powerful motor and a battery. So, there is a lot of energy consumption and the vehicle is heavy and expensive. Their battery pack has 8,000 cells; to keep such high number of cells under control is another task“he says. What MLCA has done differently is use lesser number of more powerful cells. Not only 3 ampere cells, but 25 ampere cells, which allow MLCA to have a simpler battery design, which is easier to regulate. The cells, based on the LCO-NCM chemistry, are also very stable at high temperature, which is another advantage. That has also allowed MLCA to use a simpler yet sophisticated battery management system (BMS) in its battery pack. Dr. Loglio repeatedly stresses on the fact that the two demo vehicles with 800km range are not just prototypes; they are absolutely ready for road use, which means they are not ultra lightweight vehicles developed only for the sake of achieving this record range. Dr Loglio’ Dr. Loglio believes this is also part of a marketing effort. People are already wary of using electric cars and have doubts about their performance and the distance they can travel. Automakers feel necessitated to come up with specifications which read impressive and build confidence on the vehicle’ When asked about how soon this 800km EV developed under his supervision can go on sale, Dr. Loglio expresses valid skepticism. “People buy vehicles based on many points, not just how much it can travel or if it is electric or gasoline” As much as he is hopeful of finding the right partners in China, Dr. Loglio also claims to have many foreign proposals interested in MLCA’s battery technology. He also hints to me about an Indonesian partner firm, which could potentially be interested in setting up an electric car factory in Bandung, Indonesia’ Going forward, Dr. Loglio does not deny the possibility of collaborating with mainstream OEMs, potentially through a licensing agreement to use its high energy battery technology. But does MLCA’s technology hold value in terms of cost? Dr. Loglio thinks a battery pack for about 500km range can be readied for use in electric cars for about USD10,000. According to him, per kilowatt hour (kWh) price in the market for electric car batteries today stands at about USD300, which is not far from the USD250/kWh price target most automakers have fixed for the long term, say 2020. End
Account Email Address Account Phone Number Disclaimer Report Abuse
|
|