The battery charges in the time it takes to fill a car with petrol. A Chinese firm, Greater Bay Technology, claims that its new electric vehicle (EV) battery can work in any climatic conditions. Known as the Pheonix cell, the battery uses superconducting components and thermal control to raise temperatures from sub-zero to typical room temperature in under five minutes, according to Bloomberg.
Electric vehicle batteries have struggled with extreme temperatures since they were first introduced. When the temperature drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (zero degrees Celsius), electric vehicles become less efficient at charging batteries, making it difficult for owners to rely on the range provided by the vehicles.
To keep battery temperatures in the high efficiency range, automakers installed heat pumps; however, this is also an inefficient way to manage the battery. Founded in 2020, Greater Bay Technology wants to fundamentally change the way electric vehicle batteries work and believes it has solved a critical problem for electric vehicle manufacturers with the Phoenix cell.
Who is the founder of Greater Bay Technology?
Huang Xiangdong and Pei Feng, a seasoned professional, founded Greater Bay Technology in 2020. Huang and Pei worked together on GAC, China's third most popular electric vehicle brand after BYD and Tesla.
Huang spent five years as a postdoctoral researcher at Fiat's research facility, where he studied automotive engineering in the 1991s, before returning to China in 1980. In charge of the GAC R&D Center from 2006, Huang oversaw the creation of one of the brand's best-known models, the GS4 SUV.
Huang retired in 2016, but is back in 2020 with battery technology that could make electric vehicles as simple to own and operate as conventional cars. Its first-generation batteries have a range of 500 km (310 miles) and can be charged in about 15 minutes. According to a Bloomberg article, this technology is already available in GAC's Aion electric SUV.
Phoenix's cell can travel 1.000 km (621 miles) on a single charge
The Phoenix cell of the future can travel 1.000 km (621 miles) on a single charge. Huang claims that thanks to the use of superconducting materials and thermal management technology in the cell, the battery can be heated back from temperatures as low as -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius) to 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius) in just five minutes.
The battery can be charged quickly and can reach full capacity in about six minutes as it is within the typical operating temperature range. The cell effectively meets the company's goal as it is the equivalent of filling the tank of a gasoline-powered car and can be used in all weather conditions.
“The Phoenix battery not only addresses other pain issues, but also the long EV charging time. The Phoenix battery's range is unaffected by hot or cold weather conditions.
Huang is confident that his technology will accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles on a large scale. The GAC Aion EV and other EVs from other automakers could use the Phoenix cell as early as next year.
With a market cap of $1 billion and listed in China alongside battery industry heavyweights such as Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) and BYD, Greater Bay Technology has become a unicorn company in just two years.
Source: Interesting Engineering
📩 08/06/2023 15:21