NOVI, MI—Our Next Energy Inc. (ONE) recently demonstrated a proof-of-concept battery that enabled an electric car to travel 752 miles without recharging. The vehicle completed a road test across Michigan in late December at an average speed of 55 mph.
The results were validated by a third party using a dynamometer. The test vehicle, a 2021 Tesla Model S, was retrofitted with a 203.7 kWh battery that had an energy density of 416 Wh/L.
"We want to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by eliminating range anxiety, which holds back most consumers today," says Mujeeb Ijaz, CEO of ONE. "We are now focused on evolving this proof-of-concept battery into a new product called Gemini, which will enable long-distance trips on a single charge, while improving cost and safety using sustainable materials."
According to Ijaz, today's EVs have low adoption rates due to range limitations. Even the highest range vehicles sold today lack the surplus energy required to overcome factors such as high-speed driving, extreme weather, mountainous terrain or towing trailers in real-world conditions. These factors can lead to a loss of more than 35 percent of rated range, causing inconvenience and anxiety on road trips.
"The Gemini battery aims to eliminate range as a barrier to electric vehicle adoption by doubling the available energy on board in the same package space," claims Ijaz. “The industry approach to solving the range issue [has been] to add more charging stations. However, relying on fast-charge stations presents other obstacles, such as waiting in long lines, not recharging as fast as advertised and being limited to a partial charge, which results in the need to stop every 150 miles.”
ONE hopes to solve this challenge by offering enough range to entice more consumer to use EVs. The company plans to begin producing the Aries battery later this year. It also will demonstrate a production prototype Gemini battery in 2023.
