Two UK based companies are today unveiling a new electric vehicle battery technology that can be recharged in a similar time to refuelling a conventional petrol vehicle.
MAHLE Powertrain and Allotrope Energy said their model combines ultra-fast recharging with good power density through the use of supercapacitors with traditional lithium-ion batteries.
Allotrope's battery's lithium-ion capacitor (Li-C) cells are free from rare-earth metals, are fully recyclable, and are not susceptible to the runaway events that can lead to overheating.
“Range anxiety is often quoted as the main barrier to electric vehicle adoption, but if the battery could be recharged in the same time it takes to refuel a conventional IC engine vehicle, much of that worry goes away,” said Dr Mike Bassett, head of research at Northampton-based MAHLE Powertrain.
MAHLE, which is part of Germany-headquartered MAHLE Group, and Woking-based Allotrope have collaborated on a proposed model for an electric moped that could be used as an urban delivery vehicle for the likes of Deliveroo PLC (LSE:ROO), Just Eat Takeaway.com, Uber Eats and the new fast-growing ultra-fast grocery delivery market.
The electric moped could be powered by an inexpensive small capacity lithium-carbon battery that could be recharged between stops in as little as 90 seconds, the two companies said.
The pair are presenting at the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle event today, showing the full results of a study of how an electric moped powered with their technology would improve a scenario where a fast-food delivery service uses an e-moped to fulfil orders on a 25km target delivery range.
In the scenario, where a current model of e-moped is used around a 25km target delivery range, a 500Wh conventional lithium-ion battery would require a recharge mid-shift that, even with a fast-charger, would take more than 30 minutes, while regular fast charging would require the battery to likely need replacing every year or two.
A lithium-carbon pack proposed by MAHLE and Allotrope, however, could be recharged at 20 kW in just 90 seconds, meaning a full charge could be achieved in the time taken for the next delivery to be collected, the pair said.
“With ultra-fast charging, the size of the battery can be optimised to suit the scenarios the vehicle will be used in, and that leads not only to weight savings but also cost reductions that further lower the barriers to decarbonisation,” Bassett said.
“The real challenge came in designing the electrical architecture capable of absorbing such high rates of charge. Additionally, with no suitable charging systems on the market that can deliver these charge rates from a domestic supply, we created our own bespoke design.”