A new technology start-up believes it holds the secret to reducing the cost of electric car batteries by as much as 85 per cent.
The new firm called 24M Technologies, is a spin-off from battery-developer, A123 Systems. Led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Yet-Miang Chiang, the new firm is set to develop new battery systems, based on research conducted by Miang, which could offer substantial production cost savings over traditional systems.
Battery packs used in electric cars can alone cost more than US$10,000, the new start-up says, and cutting this cost is essential to making electric cars more competitive with fossil-fuelled vehicles.
The company has already raised $10 million in a first round of venture funding and a secured a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E programme to further its work.
Details are sketchy on the technology of these new cheaper-to-produce batteries but it is believed that the 24M Technologies’ new battery system would be a hybridised approach; using some traditional lithium ion technology and combining it with flow battery systems and semisolid materials.
Flow batteries work in a similar way to fuel cells. Using large tanks, they circulate electrolytes, allowing them to continually recharge. As they stand, they are far too big for vehicles. 24M will work to produce smaller systems which it can then commercialise for use in electric vehicles.
