UK engineering firm Nyobolt is testing its ultra-fast-charging and highly durable EV battery technology in a drivable version of its Lotus Elise-inspired concept.
Revealed last year as a static show car, the Nyobolt concept is a 470bhp, 1246kg electric reworking of the S1 Lotus Elise, designed by the man who penned the original, Julian Thomson.
Beneath its semi-familiar bodywork, the Nyobolt EV is a test bed for a new generation of battery that could represent a step change in electric vehicle range, charge times and longevity.
Cambridge-based Nyobolt says its high-density cell technology and battery management software could be used to optimise powertrains for "high-uptime" EVs that "demand high power and quick recharge cycles".
Initial testing with the running prototype this month has confirmed that its 35kWh battery can be charged from 10-80%, using a 350kW charger, in just 4min 37sec, which Nyobolt says is "twice the speed of most of the fastest-charging vehicles today".
Nyobolt has also carried out 4000 full fast-charge cycles – which it says represents travelling around 600,000 miles – and claims the battery retained more than 80% of its usable capacity.
"This is many multiples higher than the warranties of much larger EV batteries on the road today," it said.
While Nyobolt envisions a broad range of applications for this technology beyond cars, it is not pure coincidence that the company is showcasing its potential in an Elise-based prototype.
The company says a particular benefit of its cell technology is that it minimises the size and weight of the battery packs, with the concept tipping the scales at just 1246kg – scarcely more than a Renault Clio.
The company's director of vehicle battery systems, Shane Davies, touted the dynamic benefits of lightweight EV powertrains: "We can enable OEMs to build excitement back into the segment, which is literally weighed down by legacy battery currently.
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An updated Tesla Roadster 16 years after the orginal.
Synthetic fuels have several major drawbacks which mean they are unlikely to make much of a contribution to the energy transition: you need 4x the electricity to produce it than you do to power an electric car, it would take years if not decades to scale up the infrastructure to produce anything like the amounts required, cars powered by synthetic fuels would still emit greenhouse gases, and the cost at the pump is likely to be significantly higher than conventional petrol. It may have some niche applications but that's it.
I agree they're a long way from where they need to be. But they are available now, and have been shown to work in unmodified cars.
But the environmental costs of producing batteries is high that it takes nearly the entire life of the car before it starts to become better for the environment. And does that even take in to account how the electricity is produced? A significant portion of that is from gas powered power stations.
EVs are not zero emissions. They just happen out of sight of the EV owner.
Nobody is saying EVs are zero emissions. And your point about battery production has been repeatedly, categorically proven to be false. An EV can pay off its carbon debt within around 14,000 miles compared to a combustion engined car. Our electricity generation is also rapidly being decarbonised: we now generate more via wind than from fossil fuels.
I've read that it's between 60 and 80 thousand miles. But I did some checking.
Your figure is only true if the electricity you're using is completely clean with no further emissions. Which isn't the case in the UK.
More rubbish from you, it depends on where the electricity comes from Poland is far worse than Norway. You never check anything.
More abuse from the one that's hard of thinking.
If you can't read my reply correctly get someone to explain it to you.
I so wish Lotus would build something like this - or license the design to someone else to do so.