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On the horizon (near and far): improved e-bike batteries
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Super lightweight. Ten-minute charge time. Double the range. Less likely to burn down your store. If I could promise you all that in an e-bike battery, how quickly would you be putting in an order?To get more news about ebike accessories, you can visit magicyclebike.com official website.
Recent developments in battery compositions and management systems promise huge improvements over the current industry standard, lithium-ion. And while some of the developments will take years to reach the e-bike market, some are nearly here. We reached out to researchers, e-bike brand owners, and battery experts to learn what's coming.To get more news about rad rover 5, you can visit magicyclebike.com official website.
Key metrics
To get a sense of the key metrics for e-bike batteries, BRAIN spoke with Ravi Kempaiah, co-founder of Zen Ebikes and a postdoc at Dahn Lab at Nova Scotia's Dalhousie University. Kempaiah, in collaboration with Dahn Lab and Tesla, recently debuted findings on a new battery composition that has a better energy density and charge time than lithium-ion, all while approaching a theoretical longevity of 100 years. Kempaiah hopes to bring this new battery technology to market on Zen Ebikes next year.To get more news about waterproof bag for bike, you can visit magicyclebike.com official website.
"All you need is one fire to destroy your reputation, so safety is number one," Kempaiah said. He said stringent standards like UL certification will increase safety and the perception of safety, and thus, consumer confidence.
Kempaiah also zeroed in on longevity, which is key to sustainability. "This year, 2022, 40 million e-bikes will be sold. At our current rate of battery life, 2-3 years on average, by 2024, 2025, the world has to deal with 120 million kilograms of hazardous battery waste ... If all of that isn't recycled well or if it has to go through complex recycling, then the whole idea of sustainability goes out the window."
Kempaiah's third key metric is energy density. Unless new technologies are able to fit more energy into an equivalent amount of space, the batteries of tomorrow will be forced to weigh more, or deliver less range.
Finally, price is always key. Kempaiah said he's targeted an ideal of $500/Kwh for the end user. A Bosch battery system is currently around $1,550/Kwh.
While Zen Ebikes pursues new materials, Kempaiah stressed that the transformation of e-bike batteries needs to be system-wide. Even the best battery chemistries depend on safe and effective management systems.
For other companies, like ZapBatt and their founder, Charlie Welch, advances made in battery management systems have opened the door for older battery compositions to be put to better use.
ZapBatt is aiming to bring its first product, a lithium-titanate battery pack, to market in the first quarter of 2023. The e-bike industry hasn't seen an LTO battery since the Schwinn Tailwind, back in 2008, but Welch said that the potential of LTO can be unlocked through new management systems. Their proprietary system will allow their battery to be retrofitted to a variety of motors with different voltages.
LTO battery cells promise lightning-fast charge times and longevity (up to 15,000 charge cycles according to the International Electrotechnical Commission), but energy density and cost are still factors. ZapBatt's initial offering will be a 360 Wh battery, weighing in at 9.5 pounds.
By those spec's, ZapBatt's battery has lower capacity and heavier weight than current lithium-ion offerings. And, the company estimates the packs will cost around $1,200-$1,600 per 500Whs. However, there are other metrics. Welch said ZapBatt batteries will offer greater value over time because of their longevity and efficiency.