UK start-up IONETIC said it launched an electric vehicle (EV) battery pack technology design platform, which it claims can cut the development cost and time for automotive manufacturers bringing a new EV to market.
It said the platform can produce a battery pack design in days and reduce the costs of getting from requirements to mass manufacture by over 90% for automotive OEMs. This is due to the platform’s ability to automatically generate designs according to a series of fully adjustable parameters.
It also offers a vertically integrated solution to battery pack production, which includes homologation and mass manufacture.
IONETIC is planning to open its first UK-based battery manufacturing facility next year, which will enable it to begin pilot production of its own battery pack designs.
James Eaton, IONETIC’s CEO, said: “There are many stages needed to get a battery pack into production. Automotive companies need to consider requirements, system design, homologation, embedded control, manufacturing options, and vehicle integration, to name a few. These stages are often done by different companies, which can lead to a costly, fragmented process. At IONETIC we facilitate all these stages, simplifying the process and reducing the cost for EV OEMs.
“We’re currently focusing on niche automotive companies in the UK and Europe. They typically make fewer than 10,000 vehicles per year, so probably don’t meet the minimum order quantities of large global battery pack suppliers, or can’t meet their high design fees.”
IONETIC’s battery modules have an energy density of 226Wh/kg. It said its pack architecture is most similar to Tesla, so a pack energy density of at least 180Wh/kg is targeted. It says this is a 36% improvement over the Nissan Leaf.
Picture caption: IONTEC’s CEO James Eaton says they’re focusing on niche automotive companies in the UK and Europe
