People point to autonomy as one of the biggest problems of electric cars and one of the biggest obstacles to their adoption. Car manufacturers and battery companies are working to ensure that cars have longer mileage.
Our Next Energy (ONE) is an American company that deals with the development of batteries that aims to make the anxiety of autonomy for electric cars only a distant memory. To demonstrate the goodness of the work it is carrying out, this company took a Tesla Model S and installed an experimental battery called Gemini 001.
According to what has been told, it is an accumulator with a capacity of 203.7 kWh and an energy density of 416 Wh/l (against about 245 Wh/l of the original battery pack). The cells have a nickel-cobalt-manganese cathode and a graphite anode. The new accumulator added about 331 kg to the weight of the Model S, however, almost doubling the amount of energy available.
That battery allowed Elon Musk’s company’s electric sedan to travel a 752-mile (about 1,210 km) journey at an average speed of 55 miles per hour (about 88 km / h) on Michigan roads. A result is certified also by third parties.
With the autonomy of today’s electric cars that can drop significantly based on various factors such as highway driving or the cold, the American company intends to offer batteries that offer a long distance and therefore do not force the owners of an electric car to have to recharge their car frequently.
The company aims to show a prototype of its Gemini battery ready for series production in 2023. Before that, this American company plans to use different chemistry by eliminating nickel and cobalt. In addition, it will aim to further improve the energy density to reach 450 Wh / l. Definitely an interesting product with a very high energy density value.
However, nothing has been said about the longevity of this battery. Furthermore, an accumulator with such a high capacity would cost a lot, driving up the prices of electric vehicles. We will see over time how this project will evolve.