Automakers around the world are investing tens
of billions of dollars to electrify their line-ups, but there are still
a number of obstacles limiting mainstream acceptance — such as range
and cost.
But Phoenix-based Nikola Motors
may have found what its CEO describes as the “Holy Grail of batteries,”
an alternative to today’s lithium-ion technology that could double the
distance a battery-electric vehicle can travel between charges, while
cutting battery costs in half.
“We
are not talking about small improvements; we are talking about doubling
the range of BEVs and hydrogen-electric vehicles around the world,”
said Trevor Milton, founder and chief executive of Nikola.
Nikola,
a start-up that has focused on hydrogen and battery-powered heavy-duty
trucks, isn’t offering many details about the new technology and,
considering that other promised breakthroughs have failed to prove
production ready, there are plenty of skeptics. Even if it does pan out,
tech consultancy ABI Research warns it would likely take several years,
at the soonest, to begin manufacturing.
What
Nikola has revealed is that it plans to acquire an unnamed battery
start-up that created the new technology. It says it will provide more
information once that deal is completed early in 2020.
The
company has offered some hints as to how the new technology works,
suggesting it relies on modifications to current lithium-ion batteries,
rather than completely replacing them entirely. It appears the key to
the new battery is removing the binder material and electric current
collectors used in today’s lithium-ion cells. That would reduce not only
size and weight, Milton claimed, but also make the new batteries “more
conductive,” translating into faster charging times.
Source: NBC
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