Hyundai Cooks Up A Low-Cost EV Battery For Your Electric Car

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Electrical automobile gross sales hit a velocity bump final yr, main some observers to surmise that the dream of zero emission mobility was sputtering out. Nevertheless, many automakers didn’t get the memo. One instance is Hyundai, which has simply unveiled a brand new lithium-iron-phosphate EV battery undertaking in partnership with Kia, aimed toward shepherding a brand new technology of inexpensive electrical autos into {the marketplace}.

The Value Of An EV Battery Is Coming Down Quick, However Not Quick Sufficient

To be clear, the price of an EV battery has been dropping like a rock because the early 2000s. The newest calculation from the Automobile Applied sciences Workplace over on the US Division of Vitality places the drop at 90% for light-duty autos within the 15-year interval from 2008 to 2023, based mostly on 2023 fixed {dollars}.

“The 2023 estimate is $139/kWh on a usable-energy basis for production at scale of at least 100,000 units per year. That compares to $1,415/kWh in 2008,” the VTO defined in a report dated August 4 of this yr. “The decline in cost is due to improvements in battery technologies and chemistries, as well as improvements in manufacturing and increases in production volume,” they famous.

That’s mighty spectacular, however the determine of $139 per kilowatt-hour nonetheless falls far wanting the $100 goalpost for batteries set by the VTO. It’s additionally fairly an extended distance from VTO’s final objective, which is to cut back the price of an EV battery right down to $80/kWh whereas additionally growing vary to 300 miles and reducing the charging time down to fifteen minutes or much less.

A New (Outdated) Recipe For A Low-Value EV Battery, LFP Version

As indicated by the VTO, automakers have been developing with cost-cutting formulation to exchange standard lithium-ion EV batteries. Right here within the US they’re additionally getting a contemporary burst of monetary help within the type of a $2.8 billion carve-out for EV battery initiatives within the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation, aimed toward bringing down the general price of electrical autos.

One merchandise on the menu is a lithium-iron-phosphate method, which EV battery stakeholders have been eyeing because the early 2000s. As defined by the Nationwide Science Basis again in 2009, LFP know-how surfaced across the flip of the twenty first century and shortly gained foreign money within the fields of rechargeable energy instruments and medical units, together with plug-in hybrid EVs. “LFP batteries are saferless expensive and more environmentally friendly than most other rechargeable batteries,” the NSF noticed.

A lot for the excellent news. Engineering an LFP battery for a 100% electrical automobile has been a problem. An achingly gradual fee of discharge was one preliminary downside, and it was a giant one. Sluggish discharge principally means an electrical automotive that received’t speed up.

Vitality density was one other important hurdle for LFP know-how. The decrease the vitality density, the larger the battery, and that sometimes interprets into extra weight, which impacts tire put on and tear in addition to battery vary.

Nonetheless, the attraction of changing the nickel, cobalt, and different costly supplies utilized in standard EV batteries was robust sufficient to maintain LFP on the R&D radar. One other spark of motivation was added after President Joe Biden took workplace in 2021 with a producing agenda specializing in shoring up the nation’s home provide chains.

Ford, for one, has seen sufficient enchancment to take the LFP plunge. When Ford introduced a re-alignment of its electric vehicle plans in August, the corporate famous that can produce an LFP EV battery at its BlueOval Battery Park in Michigan by 2026, making it the primary US automaker to ascertain its personal LFP manufacturing line.

For the report, Ford additionally famous that tax advantages underneath the 2022 Inflation Discount Act had been instrumental in planning for the LFP undertaking (see extra LFP battery background here).

Hyundai Hatches A 4-Yr LFP EV Battery Plan

That brings us to the massive information from Hyundai. In a transfer that validates Ford’s religion in LFP know-how, Hyundai has partnered up with sister agency Kia to develop a brand new system for manufacturing LFP batteries, aimed toward decreasing prices.

The partnership, which additionally consists of Hyundai Metal and the cathode supplies agency EcoPro BM, goals to eradicate the precursor step generally utilized in EV battery manufacturing. In an LFP battery, for instance, the cathode (the constructive electrode) is initially fashioned with precursor supplies, and the lithium is added in one other sequence.

The Hyundai enterprise goals to mix every little thing in a single course of. “The direct synthesis process simultaneously adds phosphate, iron (Fe) powder and lithium without creating a separate precursor. This eliminates the precursor production step, reducing hazardous substance emissions during manufacturing and lowering production costs,” Hyundai explains.

That sounds easy sufficient, however the satan is within the particulars, which explains why R&D program for Hyundai’s new EV battery falls underneath a four-year timeline.

“The direct synthesis process is environmentally friendly and cost-competitive compared to conventional processes. However, to increase production efficiency, ensuring impurity-free and uniformly sized raw materials is crucial,” Hyundai notes. The plan is to provide high-grade iron powder from recycled metal underneath the Hyundai Metal umbrella. EcoPro BM is tasked with synthesizing cathode materials from the powder.

Why Wait For The LFP Battery Of The Future?

LFP has been operating second-best to traditional lithium-ion battery formulation when it comes to efficiency, however Hyundai and its companions intention to place that to a cease. Other than decreasing the price of an EV battery, Hyundai is relying on the brand new LFP manufacturing course of to yield a high-performing battery that may cost and discharge rapidly, even at low temperatures.

To the extent {that a} important drop in prices will translate into vigorous development for EV gross sales a number of years from now, that’s a very good factor. Automakers like Hyundai will even want an affordability hedge as soon as the EV market matures to the purpose the place tax credit evaporate.

In the meantime, tens of millions of drivers — and fleet managers — have already seen sufficient affordability within the EV discipline, and Hyundai is set to maintain the momentum going.

Earlier this month Hyundai unveiled a refreshed version of its 2025 IONIQ 5 EV alongside a “rugged” off-road iteration referred to as the IONIQ 5 XRT. In accord with the onshoring focus of the Biden administration, the brand new fashions will likely be made within the USA on the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America campus in Georgia.

Hyundai additionally expects that autos produced on the Metaplant will likely be eligible for a $3,750 federal tax credit score on gross sales, with extra tax credit to observe. The automaker notes that it already passes alongside the total $7,500 tax credit score on lease affords.

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Picture (cropped): Hyundai is planning the subsequent step in electrical automobile affordability with a brand new lithium-iron-phosphate EV  battery enterprise in partnership with Kia, Hyundai Metal, and the supplies agency EcoPro BM (courtesy of Hyundai).