Porsche expects to be able to produce electric vehicles with a range exceeding 807 miles (1,300 km) in the medium term and this won’t involve EVs with solid-state batteries, a technology that the carmaker is developing.
The German carmaker believes that optimizing the anode of an EV is one way to optimize it. Porsche currently uses graphite as an active anode material but is developing silicon anodes. It says silicon anodes offer up to 10 times more storage capacity and cells with fast-charging capability could be charged from 5 to 80% in less than 15 minutes with these anodes.
There is one issue with silicon anodes, however. Porsche notes that silicon particles expand by 300% when they absorb lithium, meaning that the service life of the battery would be impaired. Porsche is currently working on anodes made up of up to 80% silicon. Additionally, it is also undertaking intensive work in increasing the proportion of nickel in the cathode, allowing for higher charging capacities.
Read: Maserati Rejects Solid State Batteries For Its Cars Due To Performance Concerns
“In the medium term, we can expect the combination of new anode chemistry and dense packaging of the cells to allow a vehicle range of 1,300 km (807 miles),” director of the Helmholtz Institute Ulm and Head of the Energy Storage Systems research unit at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Professor Maximilian Fichtner said.
“I think that we will see 30 to 50 percent increases in range in premium vehicles in the future,” added the commercial and technical director of MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Munster, Dr. Falko Schappacher.
Like many other car manufacturers, Porsche is also investing heavily in solid-state battery technology. Its researchers believe such batteries will have 50% greater energy density and offer significantly faster charging times.
Faster charging times will necessitate the development of more powerful charging stations. Charging sockets will also need active cooling so that charging capacities exceeding 500 kW can be conducted reliably.
