February 4, 2020
Californian start-up Enevate has lofty ambitions – to develop low cost battery technology that provides extreme fast charging and long range for electric vehicles. Unlike most start-ups, it also boasts a Nobel laureate on its advisory board.
Auto Futures has been talking to Jarvis Tou, Enevate’s Executive Vice President, Marketing and Products.
He started off by telling us that Enevate’s mission is to develop and license innovative lithium-ion battery technologies to accelerate the adoption of electrified mobility.
“This focus is not only a perfect fit for the company’s breakthrough silicon-dominant battery technology, but also underpins the company’s vision to significantly reduce greenhouse gases and make the world a better place to live.
“Enevate is dedicated to a cleaner and sustainable global environment through a variety of battery-powered applications and products that are accessible and affordable to everyone.”
The company was founded back in 2005 by Dr. Benjamin Park. Dr. Park and his team of scientists, with more than 250 patents issued or in-process, are working to bring to market a new class of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. To date, the company has raised over $110M funding and its global investors include Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (Alliance), LG Chem, Samsung, and others.
It recently announced its new 4th generation XFC-Energy technology for high volume commercialization targeting gigafactory scale production to serve the EV market. It achieves 5-minute charging to 75 percent capacity with 800 Wh/L cell energy density.
“Today’s conventional large-format Li-ion EV cells are at 500-600 Wh/L and typically take over 1 hour to charge. Most battery improvements have been incremental each year, but Enevate has achieved about a 10X, or order of magnitude, improvement in fast charge speeds for EV batteries without compromising energy density.
“This enables charging and EV as fast as refueling a gas car, which allows for drive-through charging stations in the future,” Tou explains.
The latest generation was the result of over 74 million hours of battery cell testing, one million meters of electrodes produced in the company’s R&D pilot line, and two billion test datapoints.
Enevate Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Benjamin Park, believes that the XFC-Energy technology will help close the usability gap between today’s EVs and gas cars. He says: “Enevate’s extreme fast charge technology enables a future where gas stations become drive-through EV charging stations – a win-win for consumers and the environment as electric vehicles replace those using gasoline.”
Tou adds: “We predict that EV charging can be as fast as gas fuelling within the next 5 years as new EV platforms being designed now reach the market.”
“I SALUTE THE ENEVATE TEAM FOR REACHING THIS NEXT IMPORTANT STEP…”
Dr. John Goodenough was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his groundbreaking work in the development of lithium-ion batteries. He received the award along with M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino.
He has served on Enevate’s technical advisory board since 2010.
Dr. Goodenough joined Enevate after discussing the potential of its silicon-dominant approach to the continued innovation of the Li-ion battery with Dr. Benjamin Park,.
At the launch of the new 4th generation XFC-Energy technology, Dr. Goodenough said: “I salute the Enevate team for reaching this next important step in fulfilling the company’s mission to develop and commercialize innovative battery technologies to accelerate the adoption of electrified mobility.”
Hiring And Securing New Investment
Looking forward, the next steps for Enevate include licensing and transferring the company’s new 4th generation XFC-Energy technology to EV battery manufacturers and EV automotive makers for scaling up for high volume commercialization.
Tou tell us that it will also be looking to secure additional investment funding, and additional hiring of the best scientists and engineers in the field of advanced battery technology.
“We are currently working with multiple automotive OEMs and EV battery manufacturers to commercialize our technology for 2024-2025 model year EVs, utilizing existing manufacturing infrastructure with minimal investment required,” concludes Tou.
Contacts
Bill Blanning
Enevate Corporation
bblanning@enevate.com