Ford Motor Co. said is close to present car buyers more affordable and longer-range electric vehicles thanks to a breakthrough it made in battery technology, though the announcement lacked details, leaving some experts worried. Charles Poon, Ford’s director of electrified propulsion engineering, on April 23rd explaimed that the Dearborn-based automaker plans, by the end of the decade, to offer reasonable EVs that can travel farther on a single charge thanks to its work on new battery cell chemistry. Read on to get to know all detailed information.
New times for the future of electric vehicles
After intense investigation and development at their state-of-the-art Battery Center of Excellence, Ion Park (in Romulus, Michigan), they are thrilled to share that the Ford team is delivering a game-changing battery chemistry. This goes further than just a lab experiment. In addtion, they are actively laboring to scale LMR cell chemistry and integrate them into our future vehicle lineup within this decade.”
But experts explained that lithium manganese batteries aren’t new. The first-generation Chevrolet Volt employed cells with manganese spinel cathodes, said Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at Telemetry Insights. He explained that spinel calls to a determined variety of 3D molecular structure.
There are other battery formulations as well, Abuelsamid said, explaining that Our Next Energy, a battery startup based in Novi, is carrying out manganese cells and the Gemini hybrid battery pack. Gemini as an architecture designed both the range of EVs by using two cells, the one with a lithium iron phosphate cell for daily driving and an anode-free cell for longer trips.
LMR is an answer for the questions
Ford spokeswoman Emma Bergg respnded to the Free Press that while LMR has been researched by many companies, the technology poses challenges with voltage decay and gas generation. What is unique about the Ford LMR development is that the automaker is straight forward addressing these problems while “not sacrificing energy density,” Bergg wrote in an email.
Abuelsamid said manganese cells have had a not long charge cycle life, and Ford’s comments imply that they may have set a way up to address this, but Ford did not provide more information on how. Sam Fiorani thought the clarification suggested progress more than a breakthrough.
Poon said Ford’s LMR battery technology has the possibility to make a “step change,” by giving its EVs migliorated safety and stability in comparison to lithium iron phosphate batteries as well as a higher energy density than even high-nickel batteries, which provide longer range on a single charge.
Poon explained that Ford is also targeting a remarkable lower cost than nowaday’s mid-nickel batteries, which would bring down the prices of EVs. Batteries represent at least a third of the cost of an EV, and Ford believes lowering prices on EVs is key to achieving true cost parity with gasoline-powered vehicles. But battery technology for EVs is in its infancy in comparison with the development of internal combustion engines, said Fiorani.
Fiorani exposed that efforts such as LMR batteries, nevertheless, cannot be overlooked because they show promise in getting EVs positioned as a practical replacement for gasoline-powered vehicles, ultimately leading to broad EV adoption.
Losing cobalt cuts costs, child labor
Ford’s current all-electric lineup includes:
- Mustang Mach-E
- F-150 Lightning pickup
- E-Transit van.
In the first quarter, Ford reported it sold 22,550 all-electric vehicles, an 11.5% growth from the year-ago period.
Ford Chair Bill Ford has long advocated for a better EV affordability. At the Detroit Auto Show at the begining of the year, Bill Ford said that the company is labouring hard on creating EVs more affordable because EV affordability will be “the catalyst for much wider adoption.”
Ford’s recent comes after the New York Times reported on Monday that China’s CATL said it had made technological progresses that would permit it to make batteries that are cheaper, lighter, faster to recharge and more resistant to cold, all by the same time providing greater driving range.
Wall Street autos analyst David Whiston with Morningstar reported to the Free Press that Ford’s announced battery cell technology advancements might almost reduce the requirement for cobalt, an expensive mineral usually mined with child labor, making it a human rights concern.
