Beyond Tesla? Flow battery electric vehicle analysis

Are these two pictures similar? It is true that NanoFlowcell AG's tall battery system is in principle the same as the vanadium battery used in the industry for many years.

At present, most of the batteries we use come from an ancient model - the original battery of 1800 AD. In the last 300 years, people have been looking for positive and negative materials to increase energy density. Both dry batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, and popular lithium batteries are materials upgrades. The principle is basically similar to that of a battery more than 300 years ago.

However, the utilization rate of active materials for such batteries is very low, and substances capable of generating electrical energy are entrapped in necessary non-active materials. These non-active substances are often expensive and reduce the utilization of active substances. In current batteries, 50% of the active substances can be used and the efficiency is not low.

This has made it impossible for today's battery capacity to continue to grow. People have been trying for years to explore positive and negative materials. At least half of the energy of emerging high-energy materials is wasted.

In addition, traditional battery cells cannot be made large, and the battery cells are connected together to make a system, and a large amount of energy is wasted, which makes the already low efficiency even worse.

Because of these weaknesses of traditional batteries, people invented the flow battery. As can be seen from the figure, the flow battery can be regarded as an independent large battery, and the positive and negative electrode electrolytes are separately stored, and the reaction is concentrated to generate electric energy. This eliminates the need for costly additional materials and eliminates the need for multiple battery systems to greatly increase efficiency. This is the battery system described by NanoFlowcell AG in complex text.

Second, the problem of flow battery system

Since this system is so good and its efficiency is so high, why do we use lithium batteries in cars? And vanadium batteries are only used in some energy storage systems?

Because the flow battery not only has advantages, it also has many disadvantages.

At present, the flow battery is mainly vanadium battery. Due to the limitation of the concentration of the electrolyte, the flow battery is theoretically more efficient than conventional batteries. However, the low electrolyte concentration, energy density, and power density have no advantage over lithium batteries and the price is not cheap. The energy density of the electrolyte itself is low, coupled with additional devices such as tanks, pumps, etc., and the overall system performance of the flow battery is even worse.

Because of poor efficiency, to do large capacity, the weight of the flow battery is very large. There is no problem in the use of energy storage power stations, the use of power in the car is good, energy is good, far less than lithium batteries.

In addition, the vanadium battery requires temperature and cannot be overheated. The metabolites produced in the middle are highly toxic, and once leaked, the consequences are serious. Long-term use, maintenance is also more trouble.

Because of these problems, vanadium batteries are currently used mainly in such places as energy storage power stations and wind power generation attachments, and the automotive industry is rare.

So the flow battery sounds beautiful, but there aren't too many areas currently in use.

Third, NanoFlowcell AG's Cheats

From NanoFlowcell AG's description of the supercar Quant e-Sportlimousine, two 200-litre tanks can maintain 600 kilometers of cruising after they are filled with salt water. The general energy density of the flow battery is 40WH/L, 400 liters can only produce 16 kWh, not to mention 600 kilometers of life, 100 kilometers can not run down easily. (The comprehensive road condition of high-speed electric vehicles is about 20 degrees.)

So, if NanoFlowcell AG is not a big flicker, it is the invention of a storage cell with ultra-high density, which has several times more energy density than current mainstream flow batteries. And he also practically used this invention to be able to do the car above.

However, the problem is that the most advanced technology for flow batteries is the semi-solid lithium-flow battery that was developed by Jiang Yeming, a founder of MIT Taiwan scientists and a founder of the famous A123 lithium iron phosphate battery company. It can reach 300-500WH/L, but this battery is still under development. Commercially available finished products have not yet been made, not to mention large-scale applications, or even into the car.

NanoFlowcell AG's statement of this matter, directly to the energy volume density of 300WH / L (estimated value), not only developed, but also made products, and even can be installed in the concept car running on the road.

In this regard, there are only two possibilities, or the fact that the data published by NanoFlowcell AG is not true.

Or NanoFlowcell AG's progress in the development of flow batteries exceeds that of MIT Jiang Yeming. Not only has it made the industry's leading flow batteries, it has also been practical and can be loaded.

To be honest, if NanoFlowcell AG really does this, the first concern should not be the automotive industry, but its military use. If this stuff is loaded into a diesel-electric submarine, combat effectiveness and underwater cruising will increase.

Therefore, we have to wait for more information and test results to confirm the authenticity of NanoFlowcell AG's "brine-water" electric vehicles.

Fourth, the advantages of liquid battery electric vehicle

For traditional battery electric vehicles, there are two modes of charging and changing.

Because of the security, battery ownership, and location of the power exchange, the power exchange model has always been difficult to popularize. The charging mode takes a long time and is far from convenient. It is not realistic for the user to wait for a long time. This is why the pure electric car has been difficult to promote.

The flow battery can directly replace the electrolyte, similar to the refueling process can solve the charging problem. As long as the existing gas station is slightly modified, it can be used. The transition cost from fuel vehicles to electric vehicles can be greatly reduced, which is conducive to popularization.

In addition, pure electric vehicles can be directly driven by four wheels, eliminating the need for a large number of power transmission systems such as differentials, transmission shafts, and transmissions. The structure is simple, cost is low, and efficiency is high. This is true of Quant e-Sportlimousine, a supercar designed by NanoFlowcell AG. The four-wheeled direct software distributes the rotational speed torque, which is equivalent to four independent torque control. This is equivalent to using the housekeeping technology of both Acura and Audi, which can greatly improve the control.

At the same time, because the flow battery does not have a fixed shape, (the shape of the cans can be any), it is easy to make the center of gravity of the vehicle layout, allowing the maximum weight of the car to be located on the center axis of the car, centering on the center of gravity, which is very good for the control of the car. Used in the super-run is more like a duck.

However, all this must be based on the flow of batteries. The NanoFlowcell AG from Yunshan Mist covers looks beautiful, but the data needs to be further confirmed.

In fact, we can look forward to more about MIT Jiang Yeming. Now they have obtained a $16 million investment in the practical application of semi-solid lithium-ion batteries.

According to Jiang Yeming's blueprint, high-performance, low-cost (required auxiliary materials for flow batteries are cheaper than conventional batteries, which is almost 200 US dollars, while the cheapest lithium iron phosphate is also 300 to 400 US dollars at one time), which can be replaced by electrolysis. Rapid liquid-filled semi-solid lithium-ion batteries can replace current lithium batteries as long as they mature. The existing gas station can be upgraded to a quick charging station for replacing the electrolyte at a low cost, and the existing gas station facilities can be fully utilized to complete the transition from the fuel vehicle to the electric vehicle.

If the flow battery technology is mature, large-scale mass production is introduced, and the gas station is transformed into a quick charging station for replacing electrolytes, the “mileage anxiety” that has plagued electric vehicles for many years will be completely solved. We can choose to charge at home, you can also replace the electrolyte as quick as the refueling, we have any reason to reject the electric car?

NanoFlowcell AG may not be reliable, and the "brine" car may be just a gimmick. However, we firmly believe that with the development and popularization of the flow battery technology, the future of liquid battery electric vehicles will be very good.