New NCM car battery boosts range by 35 percent

by Steven Mostyn - Sep 26 2011, 16:48

We here at Tech Herald Towers would never question the eco-friendly credentials associated with electric cars—if they could rear up and hug trees, they surely would (wood?).

However, it’s fair to say that cell-powered vehicles have long-since suffered from a lack of operational longevity where traveling any meaningful distance on a single charge is concerned.

Not any more. Specifically, boffins at a UK-based technology consortium have created a new Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM) battery that should increase comparative single-charge range by up to 35 percent.

And, beyond offering the possibility of increased mileage between charges, the battery should also require 50 percent less volume and 30 percent less mass than similar sized units created with Lithium Iron Phosphate.

The project, which is being helmed by Axeon, Ricardo and Allied Vehicles and presently stands at the prototype stage, has racked up costs of around 1.3 million GBP.  

“This new battery represents a real step forward in the development of electric vehicles and is highly versatile,” trumpeted Axeon chief executive Lawrence Berns. “It is suitable for applications for many vehicle manufacturers and across a wide range of platforms.”

The consortium hopes that its new generation of battery will “improve the potential for more widespread vehicle electrification” while also helping to significantly reduce global dependence on fossil fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

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