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Oct 23, 2023

Breakthrough EV battery pack could last 2 million kms, or 130 years of average driving

Chinese manufacturer Gotion High-Tech has announced a new battery pack will go

Chinese manufacturer Gotion High-Tech has announced a new battery pack will go into mass production in 2024 that it says will deliver range of up to 1,000kms for a single charge and could last two million kms.

The company says the manganese doped L600 LMFP Astroinno will be able to do 4,000 full cycles at room temperature, and at high temperature will get 1800 cycles and over 1500 cycles of 18-minute fast charging.

These incredibly high cycle numbers mean the battery could essentially last 2 million km before it starts to deteriorate. To put that into context, the average Australian car travels around 15,000 km per year so it would take 130 years worth of average driving to reach 2 million km mark.

Gotion High-Tech says the battery single-cell density is 240Wh/kg and that improvements in pack design have increased overall battery pack energy density to a point where 1000km range pack is possible with the highly durable chemistry.

"Astroinno L600 LMFP battery cell, which has passed all safety tests, has a weight energy density of 240Wh/kg, a volume energy density of 525Wh/L, a cycle life of 4000 times at room temperature, and a cycle life of 1800 times at high temperatures," said executive president of the international business unit of Gotion High-Tech Dr. Cheng Qian.

Gotion High-Tech released a new video this week explaining the new chemistry, pack design as well as the battery's safety and thermal properties.

"The the volumetric cell to pack ratio has reached 76% after adopting the L600 cell, and the system energy density has reached 190Wh/kg, surpassing the pack energy density of current mass-produced NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese) cells." said Dr Cheng.

"In recent years, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology has regained the recognition of the market with market share continuing to increase.

"Meanwhile, the energy density growth of mass-produced LFP batteries has encountered bottlenecks, and further improvement requires an upgrade of the chemical system, so manganese doped as called lithium iron manganese phosphate (LMFP) was developed." said Dr Cheng.

According to Dr Cheng, Gotion High-Tech has solved the challenges of Mn dissolution at high temperatures, low conductivity and low compaction density through utilising co-precipitation doping encapsulation technology, new granulation technology and new electrolyte additives.

The Chinese company, which has headquarters in Fremont California, credits its global R&D efforts and says its research institution in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, developed a new electrolyte for LMFP, which has greatly improved the cycle and storage performance at high temperatures.

Gotion High-Tech has been working in-house on the new technology for ten years.

Dr. Cheng said that in addition to the upgrade and innovation of the battery material system, there are also several technical breakthroughs and innovations concerning the Astroinno battery pack developed based on the new battery cell.

Gotion High-Tech says the Astroinno battery pack adopts the sandwich-structure double-sided liquid cooling technology and a minimalist design approach, which reduces the number of structural parts of the battery pack by 45% and lowers the weight of structural parts by 32%.

The company says its minimalist electrical design enables the length of the battery pack wiring harness to drop from 303 meters to 80 meters.

While a battery pack that lasts 2 million km way more than the average driver needs, batteries with such longevity open up new possibilities for ride sharing and "Transport as as Service" (Taas).

In his recent podcast interview with The Driven, technology researcher Tony Seba said that the convergence of on-demand transport services like Uber and Lyft with the autonomy and longevity of electric vehicles will open up incredible possibilities for the future of transport.

"The day that we get level four, autonomous technology ready and approved by regulators, when that converges with on-demand, and electric transportation we will get what we call transportation as a service," said Seba.

"When that happens the cost per mile of transportation is going to drop by anywhere from 10 to 20 times. So even if gasoline automakers gave away their cars, that's still gonna be a lot more expensive than the cost of transport as a service.

"So for most people who can barely pay their bills, it won't make any sense to own a car," said Seba.

"Do I spend $50,000 over the next five years to own a car? Or do I pay $100 a month for a subscription to transportation as a service?"

Seba says he thinks the convergence of EV longevity and autonomy will see the 70 million unit global automotive market drop by 75% by 2030.

Daniel Bleakley is a clean technology researcher and advocate with a background in engineering and business. He has a strong interest in electric vehicles, renewable energy, manufacturing and public policy.