BMW will use ONE's battery to double the range of its iX electric SUV

[MoniputerLM]

BMW will use ONE's battery to double the range of its iX electric SUV

Michigan's Our Next Energy (ONE) believes massive range figures are the path forward for EVs. Its experimental Gemini battery pack nearly doubled the range of a Tesla Model S in 2021, and now it's signed a deal with BMW to do the same for the iX SUV.

newatlas.com

"ONE pulled the ~100-kWh battery pack out of a Tesla Model S last year, and replaced it with a Gemini pack holding 203.7 kWh. In testing, the Tesla managed a 752-mile (1,210-km) road trip averaging 55 mph (88.5 km/h), as compared to its EPA rated range of 405 miles (651 km).

Now, ONE and BMW have teamed up to demonstrate the Gemini battery in a less aerodynamic EV. The BMW iX is a high-performance "sports activity vehicle" with a standard battery holding 111.5 kWh and an EPA-rated range up to 324 miles (521 km). BMW has agreed to build a Gemini-powered demonstrator car that the companies expect will deliver 600 miles (966 km) of driving range."

 

[oldnick25]

Also...
"The resulting pack has its limitations; it's not going to be great for track days or other sustained high-power use cases, so if (like some of my favorite lunatics) you're the kind to whack your Tesla into Ludicrous mode and floor the pedal at every red light, this pack would be a buzz kill. It might also be comparatively slow to charge, since the range extender bit will be slow both in charging and discharging. But under real-world driving conditions, it can deliver a monster range and capacity boost that'll make charge time a non-issue for most drivers."

Regardless, it's nice to see battery tech investments and advancements.

 

[Demosthenes]

Very interesting. I wonder what ‘comparatively slower to charge’ means in real life.

 

[Alex]

Very interesting. I wonder what ‘comparatively slower to charge’ means in real life.

I would think that since the battery has about double the energy, it will take at least 2x more time to charge.

 

[Demosthenes]

I would think that since the battery has about double the energy, it will take at least 2x more time to charge.

Assuming it has the same high voltage architecture? And if it doesn’t, even slower? I know nothing about battery engineering.

 

[joec]

A battery that takes a lot longer to charge could be fine, if 1) It gets you further than most people would reasonably drive in one day. And 2) Charging infrastructure were in place for leaving a car at a public fast-charging station overnight. At hotels, etc. So you could be fully charged by next morning.

Otherwise, if the charging is significantly slower, it's not worth it.

Unless the car had two packs. One fast-charging, shorter distance, one slow-charging, long distance?

Very interesting to see where these sorts of advancements lead.

I still think there's room for improvement in efficiency, too.

 

[OCDC]

It seems it's a hybrid pack, with cells of two different chemistries:

I've used LiPo, Li-NMC, and LiFePO4, but I'm not familiar with these specific chemistries. Anyone have experience with their advantages, besides the marketing here?

 

[DeaneG]

I think this thread's title might more accurately be "ONE will use BMW iX to demonstrate range doubling battery". BMW is just cooperating to learn what it can in a one-off technology demo.

 

[KySerenity]

BMW will use ONE's battery to double the range of its iX electric SUV

Michigan's Our Next Energy (ONE) believes massive range figures are the path forward for EVs. Its experimental Gemini battery pack nearly doubled the range of a Tesla Model S in 2021, and now it's signed a deal with BMW to do the same for the iX SUV.

newatlas.com

"ONE pulled the ~100-kWh battery pack out of a Tesla Model S last year, and replaced it with a Gemini pack holding 203.7 kWh. In testing, the Tesla managed a 752-mile (1,210-km) road trip averaging 55 mph (88.5 km/h), as compared to its EPA rated range of 405 miles (651 km).

Now, ONE and BMW have teamed up to demonstrate the Gemini battery in a less aerodynamic EV. The BMW iX is a high-performance "sports activity vehicle" with a standard battery holding 111.5 kWh and an EPA-rated range up to 324 miles (521 km). BMW has agreed to build a Gemini-powered demonstrator car that the companies expect will deliver 600 miles (966 km) of driving range."

I have been looking at this company since they first published the success with their prototype. Their battery pack added over 700 pounds to the already heavy weight of the Model S. This pack will really boost range but probably will kill the performance. You start to understand why Musk said range beyond 400 begins to be problematic. You must respect Lucid for obtaining 500 mile range while maintaining performance. Why do you think Elon cancelled the 500 mile range Plaid? The pack with that range probably dramatically damaged the performance and handling.

 

[MoniputerLM]

I have been looking at this company since they first published the success with their prototype. Their battery pack added over 700 pounds to the already heavy weight of the Model S. This pack will really boost range but probably will kill the performance. You start to understand why Musk said range beyond 400 begins to be problematic. You must respect Lucid for obtaining 500 mile range while maintaining performance. Why do you think Elon cancelled the 500 mile range Plaid? The pack with that range probably dramatically damaged the performance and handling.

A lot of new battery tech will come on-line in the next few years but, IMHO, it makes since to keep the range at around 400-500 miles and lower weight and cost rather than build a 1000 mile battery pack. The exception might be semi-trucks.

 

[DeaneG]

When solid-state batteries do arrive (on the same weekend as utility-scale nuclear fusion?), they'll appear in cars made by one or two manufacturers at first. It could take several more years to build enough capacity to supply batteries for most manufacturers. I'm hoping the Air will be my last EV that uses the current generation of goo-based batteries, but we'll see.

 

[Rogue]

Reviving this thread. The BMW iX had it's WLTP range nearly doubled: https://one.ai/dual-chemistry-gemini-battery-powers-bmw-ix-608-miles-on-a-single-charge

I reached out to see if and what would be involved for retrofitting a Gemini battery into a Lucid. The battery weight is about 1.5k lbs vs 2.2k lbs of Lucid's (found on forum of 22 modules x 110 lbs). 185 kWh vs 118 kWh. I would love to see the 185 kWh dropped to the 120 kWh with similar weight reduction...

Imagine a Lucid 1.5k lbs lighter or even just 1k lbs with the default Gemini. No idea what the trade-offs would be with the current version of the battery, but this would be vastly interesting in many ways as a project.

 

[DeaneG]

The future looks bright, eventually. Could be another decade to cost effective mass market.