Share with friends and circles of friends with wechat scanning QR code < / P > < p > news on July 12. In the fierce competition in the field of electric vehicles, automakers have been paying close attention to the range of electric vehicles in order to effectively alleviate the mileage anxiety of consumers. But battery manufacturers are trying to develop smaller, more durable, cheaper and faster charging electric vehicle batteries

nowadays, car manufacturers are chasing Tesla, the leader of the electric vehicle market, hoping to produce electric vehicles that can travel more than 480 kilometers on a single charge. However, battery start-ups predict that with the popularity of public charging piles, the importance of electric vehicle range will continue to decline. In order to find small batteries with extremely fast charging speed, many companies are experimenting with making batteries from materials such as silicon carbon, tungsten and niobium

battery is the most expensive component of electric vehicles, so the real fast charging and the popularity of public charging piles can enable automobile manufacturers to produce cars with smaller battery size at a lower price, so as to improve profits by selling more cars to more users

"high end users in the early electric vehicle market all want larger battery packs and longer mileage because they can afford it," said Sai shivareddy, CEO of nyobolt, a start-up. Nyobolt developed niobium oxide cathode materials that can charge the battery in a few minutes. "To be accepted by mainstream users who pay more attention to price, you need a smaller battery pack... And like today's fuel cars, you can fill up the fuel in five minutes."

Chinese companies occupy a leading market position in the global production of electric vehicle batteries. Companies such as Ningde times are developing automotive batteries that can run farther with a single charge

Chinese automakers have launched small low-cost electric vehicles such as Wuling Hongguang Mini. Although the battery price has been rising recently, the price of Wuling Hongguang Mini is only more than 30000 yuan

in the field of global electric vehicle batteries, start-ups such as nyobolt in Cambridge, England, and Woodinville in Washington, USA are studying new electrode materials, hoping to bring fast charging batteries to the market

according to the data of pitchbook, the investment in battery technology of electric vehicles increased from $1.5 billion in 2020 to $9.4 billion in 2021, an increase of more than six times as car manufacturers focus on the future

Lincoln Merrihew, vice president of pulse labs, a data analysis company, said, "we are in the initial stage of battery development."

with the soaring demand for electric vehicles, the miniaturization of electric vehicle batteries may also alleviate the supply chain problems of battery materials, while reducing the use of cobalt and nickel

another advantage is that car manufacturers can use less harmful materials and emit less carbon dioxide in the process of manufacturing electric vehicles

Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor, said at a meeting in June this year: "the battery is too expensive. Redesigning the car to minimize the size of the battery will change the rules of the market game." He added that Ford hopes to start using "the smallest and competitive battery possible" in the new generation of electric vehicles in 2026

other companies are improving the efficiency of existing batteries. For example, the range of the eqxx prototype of Mercedes Benz has reached 1000 kilometers

at present, the rapid charging technology is mainly limited by the rapid absorption of energy by electric vehicle batteries. Fast charging will shorten the battery life or overheat the battery, so most electric vehicles will limit the charging speed to protect the battery

at nyobolt headquarters, CEO shivaredi has been able to fully charge four batteries in about three minutes

niobium is a stable metal, which is usually used to increase the strength of steel. Startups such as nyobolt and echion are studying the use of niobium for battery cathode or anode. Shivaredi said that niobium can be used for ultra-high speed charging, which is many years longer than the service life of batteries on the market

nyobolt currently focuses on the research and development of high-performance electric racing batteries. Chivaredi said it would take several years of testing before automakers were ready to use their batteries in mass market models

a few kilometers away from nyobolt, the battery anode developed by echion with niobium material was originally used in commercial electric vehicles such as mining vehicles, which need continuous operation and rapid charging < p > Jean de la verpilliere, CEO of echion, said that the company aims to introduce batteries to the passenger electric vehicle market by 2025

"smaller batteries mean lower prices, so that more users can afford electric vehicles," he said

Brazilian mining and Metallurgy Corporation (cbmm) leads the production of niobium, and has invested in echion and other start-ups. At present, it is testing niobium batteries with battery materials companies nano one, Toshiba and Volkswagen caminhoes e onibus, a subsidiary of Volkswagen in Brazil

rogerio marques Ribas, head of cbmm battery project, said that although the energy density of niobium is 20% lower than that of some current batteries, "on the premise of being fully charged in a few minutes, our battery life may be extended by 3 to 10 times and our safety is higher."

ribas added: "in the near future, people will ask, why do we need such a large battery pack?"

niobium is not the only material that startups are exploring

group14 technologies' silicon carbon cathode material can increase the energy storage of lithium-ion batteries by 50%. In May this year, the company raised $400million from investors

after testing with the battery cathode material developed by group14, the battery manufacturer storedot invested by Mercedes can charge the battery to 80% in 10 minutes. Rick luebbe, CEO of group14, said that the anode material made by group14 could eventually enable electric vehicles to complete rapid charging in five minutes

"when I can finish charging in 5 to 10 minutes... It doesn't matter whether the range is 240 km or 480 km," Lubei said

our next energy, a startup in Michigan, has developed a "dual chemical" battery called Gemini. This kind of battery includes standard lithium iron phosphate (LFP) traction battery and "extended range" battery using more advanced and more expensive chemicals, which can provide a variety of options for electric vehicles with low, medium and high endurance mileage

mujeeb ijaz, CEO of the company, said, "the market will eventually decide the mileage."

according to the number of industriesIt is reported that the average American car travels less than 48 kilometers per day. In Europe, the average daily driving distance of cars is less than half of this figure

Isobel Sheldon, Chief Strategic Officer of britishvolt, a British battery company, said that as electric vehicle users began to realize that they were paying far more than they needed, the market demand for mileage would decrease

"as the market matures, people will start asking me why I spend thousands of dollars... For a battery I will never use," Sheldon said. "Most cars are used to drive to shops, visit friends or send children to school, rather than driving to Monaco." (Chenchen)