ElevenEs announces fast-charging LFP cell
ElevenEs announces the market debut of its Edge574 Blade Cell, which is just over half a metre long, and emphasises that it represents a significant leap forward as a next-generation battery cell. The Serbian company already has two LFP cells in its portfolio, but these are more focused on industrial applications, stationary storage and commercial vehicles. The Edge574 Blade Cell has now been modified in such a way that it should score particularly well with its fast-charging capability, durability and efficiency.
ElevenEs specifies a gravimetric and volumetric energy density of 190 Wh/kg and 420 Wh/l at the cell level for the new LFP cell. For charging, the company states a C-value of 10 and promises that “a pack with potentially 210 cells can achieve a peak charging power of 1 MW.” As is well known, the ‘C’ in charging speed is an indicator of the ratio of battery size to charging capacity. At 1C, any 100 kWh battery can be charged with a maximum of 100 kW. At 10C it would therefore be 1 MW. However, the maximum charging capacity of batteries is generally not available for the entire charging process.
The Serbian company stated that at temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius, fast charging from ten to 80 per cent is possible in twelve minutes. At ten degrees Celsius, this charging window should still be achievable in 18 minutes, thanks to a peak charging power of 650 kW; at zero degrees, the company no longer states a charging time, but still a maximum charging power of 415 kW. In terms of service life, ElevenEs also promises a value of “at least 500,000 kilometres.” When installed, the new cell should be suitable for cell-to-pack as well as cell-to-body integration.
ElevenEs also provides a rough outline of how the developers have made progress with the Edge574 Blade Cell. Compared to its predecessors, the new cell is said to have improved materials and a 15 per cent reduction in internal DC resistance thanks to “improved mechanical design and the optimization of electrode materials and new electrolyte.” An important role will also be played by an improved housing with a thinner yet robust sheet metal design and optimised covers with larger connections that enable a higher current output. As far as the dimensions of the prismatic cell are concerned, the new generation is even thinner and taller. Specifically, it measures 57.4 cm x 12 cm x 1.6 cm.
The company is already advertising the Edge575 and Edge500 cells on its website. The former was developed for electric vehicles such as buses and lorries and ‘combines high performance and durability, making it versatile for BESS applications’, according to the company. The Edge500 is also suitable for BESS, industrial applications, off-highway machinery and commercial vehicles.
ElevenEs was first heard from in autumn 2021, when the Serbian company announced a strategic partnership with EIT InnoEnergy to build the first LFP battery gigafactory in Europe. This is currently scheduled to be built in 2027. ElevenEs is currently manufacturing its prismatic LFP cells in a pilot plant in Serbia, which opened in 2023. The start of construction of a larger plant with a production capacity of 1,000 MWh/1 GWh is also planned for this year.
A research and development centre was opened in Subotica, Serbia, in mid-2021. Current production is closely linked to this centre. In principle, ElevenEs is aiming to build three large production facilities with a total capacity of 48 GWh in the coming years. The aforementioned plant with an annual capacity of eight GWh is scheduled to go into operation in 2028, the other two with a capacity of 20 GWh each in 2030 and 2031 – the former in Europe, the latter in the USA.
ElevenEs is a spin-off of the AI Pack Group, a large aluminium processor. The company began work on an LFP battery in 2019 with the aim of developing a particularly sustainable and efficient cell. The investor EIT InnoEnergy is not new to the field of battery technology: EIT was also one of the early investors in the Swedish company Northvolt and the French startup Verkor. It is not known how much EIT InnoEnergy invested in ElevenEs in 2021.
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