The startup Our Next Energy (ONE), from Michigan (USA), managed to replace the standard battery of the Tesla Model S Long Range with their Gemini battery and doubled the range up to 1200Km (720miles).
The doubled range on a single charge will certainly remove the range anxiety. The range anxiety is felt by many fossil-fuel car owners. So its reduction will ease the switch to electric vehicles (EV).
The doubled capacity of this new battery concept features an energy density of 416 Wh/L. The battery weight per volume (Wg/L) however is currently unknown as is the number of allowed charge cycle times before the battery will severely degenerate.
On the good side, with the double capacity, you don’t need many charge cycles!
Gemini Battery characteristics
How is this possible?
ONE utilises a double-chemistry battery system consisting of a Lithium-Ferro-Phosphate side (LFP), to power the drive train, and on the other side an energy-dense high Anode-Free cell (1Kwh/l) to fuel the LFP battery. Want to know more details? Check Google.
At the same time, the Gemini battery lowers the cost per kWh and enhances safety and reduces the number of unsustainable materials.
Tesla and ONE
Although the Gemini battery was tested in a Tesla Model S, Tesla Inc. is not affiliated with ONE. ONE is a privately owned startup financed by several private investors including BMW i Ventures.
As indicated in the first lines, another objective of ONE is to make the world of electric vehicles more sustainable.
To achieve this, nickel and cobalt have been entirely removed from the side of the battery intended for daily driving and replaced with iron. The other side, used for long-distance driving, still uses nickel-cobalt chemistry. But the Michigan-based start-up is working to replace cobalt with manganese, a plentiful and cost-effective material.
ONE has defined its prototype as a proof of concept. The goal is to demonstrate that ranges much longer than the endurance of a regular driver may be attained shortly. The production of the Gemini battery is expected to start in 2025, with production prototypes expected to start in 2023.
ONE: Our Next Energy
ONE started in 2021 with three main principles in mind: double the range of EV’s, use safer and more sustainable raw materials and establish a localised supply chain.
Although the company is seen as a start-up, its founder, Mujeeb Iljaz, is a 30-year experience industry veteran. He worked for Apple, A123 Systems and was the manager of Ford Motor Company’s next-level-zero emissions powertrains.
Gemini battery vs Hydrogen cars
If ONE succeeds in producing doubles density batteries, it might be the end of hydrogen cars.
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