Ionblox, an innovator in battery technology, recently announced the launch of its extreme fast-charging lithium-silicon cells designed for electric vehicles (EVs). Leveraging the superior energy storage capability of silicon, the company’s new cells dramatically reduce charging times while extending driving range, offering EV manufacturers a significant leap in performance and efficiency.
The Ionblox technology enables extreme fast charging (XFC), achieving 60% of the battery’s capacity in just five minutes and 80% in 10 minutes. These advancements make it possible to charge EVs in nearly the same time it takes to fill up a gasoline tank, effectively eliminating one of the key barriers to EV adoption.
In addition, Ionblox’s high-energy cells allow EV manufacturers to either extend the range of an EV by 30% to 50% using a similarly sized Ionblox battery pack or to reduce weight and cost with a smaller Ionblox battery pack.
“The battery industry has long grappled with the critical challenge of balancing high-energy storage and fast charging within a single, durable battery,” said Dr. Herman Lopez, CTO of Ionblox. “Our groundbreaking lithium-silicon technology shatters this barrier. We’ve engineered high-performance cells that are not only compact and lightweight but also robust enough for continuous use under five-minute extreme fast charging, effectively closing the performance divide between electric vehicles and their internal combustion counterparts.”
Ionblox’s lithium-silicon cells not only charge more efficiently but also maintain their performance over the vehicle lifetime. Under rigorous testing of large-format 32 Ah capacity pouch cells, Ionblox’s batteries can endure greater than 1,000 extreme fast-charge cycles with minimal degradation. This is made possible using a patented pre-lithiated silicon monoxide anode, and a unique cell architecture that can be built on existing cell manufacturing equipment.
In 2022, Ionblox received a new United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) contract to develop low-cost and fast-charge silicon-based cells for EVs. Ionblox has also received a strategic investment from Lilium, a leading eVTOL company. Ionblox extreme fast charging cell technology will enable eVTOLs to fly numerous times per day increasing the amount of time the aircraft spends in the skies.
You may also like:
Filed Under: Battery Pack, Charging, Technology News