Check out the seven "disruptive" technologies that make cars lighter, faster and smarter

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People are always imagining and longing for: What will the cars of the future look like?

If there is a standard answer, it must be lighter, faster and smarter.

Take traditional fuel vehicles as an example. Its evolution means lower fuel consumption and emissions. Survey data shows that every 30% reduction in vehicle weight can increase fuel efficiency by 20%-24% and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20%.

In the context of carbon neutrality, automobile lightweighting is the direction that major car companies are chasing. The arrival of the new energy era has further provided a foundation for the evolution of automobile intelligence.

On the one hand, the power system of new energy vehicles usually accounts for 30% to 40% of the total vehicle mass, which is significantly higher than the mass and space proportion of the power system of traditional fuel vehicles.

On the other hand, for new energy vehicles, lightweight means longer cruising range, which is an important lifeline for the development of new energy vehicles.

Under the requirement of lightweighting, the new energy vehicle track has new game rules and gameplay. Various lightweight technologies have been able to step onto the stage of the times and re-deconstruct and interpret themselves.

Diamond Quantum Sensor

Compared with traditional car accessories, the installation of sensors such as lidar makes cars more intelligent, but even if the vehicle is equipped with more than a dozen sensors, it cannot be completely Solve security issues in all scenarios.

Quantum sensors use quantum mechanisms to build extremely precise sensors. To put it simply, quantum sensors are more accurate and more sensitive than traditional sensors.

In recent years, with the iteration of technology, the commercial application of quantum sensors has become more and more popular, and quantum sensors have begun to appear in fields such as medicine and biology.

In the context of intelligent development, quantum sensors are also accelerating towards the automotive market. The application of quantum sensors in the automotive field can provide cars with "more sensitive responses" and "eyes with stronger vision."

Previously, authoritative experts in the industry predicted that "in the future, quantum sensors will play an increasingly important role in the automotive field."

However, traditional quantum sensors have many components and are bulky and The weight is heavy and it seems unrealistic to mount it on a car.

In 2019, MIT researchers created diamond-based quantum sensors on silicon chips by using conventional manufacturing techniques to squeeze many conventionally huge segments into a few tenths of a millimeter across. on the square.

After three years of baptism, diamond quantum sensors have made new progress.

Recently, researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology reported a detection technology based on diamond quantum sensors, bringing diamond quantum sensors to the field of electric vehicle batteries for the first time.

Generally speaking, electric vehicles monitor the remaining power in the battery by analyzing the current output of the battery, and at the same time calculate the remaining driving range. However, this process often has an error rate of 10%, resulting in battery usage low efficiency.

Monitoring technology based on diamond quantum sensors can reduce the error rate to 1% or even 0.11%.

In other words, with this technology, the driving range of electric vehicles can be extended by 10%, or in other words, the battery weight can be reduced by 10% for the same driving range.

According to researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology, diamond sensors can also help monitor temperature, helping to improve battery control.

Solid-state lithium metal battery

In the industry, solid-state lithium metal battery technology is hailed as a "disruptive" technology, and is even called the future of power batteries.

What is a solid-state lithium metal battery?

Different from the traditional lithium batteries currently used in electric vehicle batteries on the market, on the one hand, solid-state lithium metal batteries use lithium metal in the negative electrode to replace the graphite and silicon used in traditional batteries on the market, which can achieve higher energy density; on the other hand, using solid electrodes and solid electrolytes to replace liquid or polymer gel electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries can prevent the leakage of lithium ions, thereby reducing the occurrence of battery short circuits.

To put it simply, compared with traditional lithium-ion batteries on the market, solid-state lithium metal batteries are smaller in size and lighter in weight. In addition, they charge faster, have longer battery life, and are safer.

In recent years, whether in academia or capital circles, the pursuit of solid-state lithium metal batteries can be said to be increasingly crazy. The reason is that it can greatly alleviate the problems in the development process of new energy vehicles. "Safety anxiety" and "range anxiety" are also more in line with the lightweight trend of future electric vehicle development.

However, technical difficulties that have been difficult to overcome for a long time have made it difficult for solid-state lithium metal batteries to truly leave the laboratory.

In recent years, good news has come one after another.

Fully charged within 3 minutes, charging cycles exceed 10,000 times, and battery life exceeds 20 years. Harvard University in the United States has made a new technological breakthrough in the research of solid-state lithium metal batteries.

In May last year, Harvard University in the United States announced the progress of solid-state lithium metal batteries, but the technology at that time was stuck at the level of "full charge within 10-20 minutes, battery life of 10-15 years" .

This new breakthrough in solid-state lithium metal battery technology can be said to have directly raised the average level of battery technology. If it is truly industrialized on a large scale, it may become the key to solving the problems that restrict the development of electric vehicles. Further empower the electric vehicle industry.

Currently, solid-state lithium metal batteries are accelerating their commercial application.

It is understood that the startup Adden Energy announced that it has received an exclusive technology license from Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development to advance the commercialization of the technology, with the goal of shrinking the battery into a palm-sized "soft pack battery" ".

The "2021-2025 All-Solid Metal Lithium Battery Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestion Report" shows that the first batch of solid-state lithium metal batteries are expected to enter the market before 2025. In the next 10 years, solid-state lithium metal Batteries will be the development trend of electric vehicle power batteries.

vanadium anode battery

At the 2022 World Power Battery Conference, Zeng Qinghong, chairman of GAC Group, said, "I am working for CATL", referring to the automotive power battery field. The dilemma is fully exposed to the public's view.

In recent years, car companies have been looking for new suppliers while relying on the market to bring new "substitutes."

The new concept of "vanadium anode battery" has also come into people's view this summer.

In June, according to foreign media reports, TyFast announced that the company has developed and manufactured vanadium anode batteries, saying that vanadium anode batteries charge 20 times faster than ordinary lithium-ion batteries, can extend their service life 20 times, and can achieve 3 Fully charged within minutes and supports 20,000 charging cycles. It is understood that the battery can still provide 80% to 90% of the energy density of current batteries.

First of all, let’s understand what a vanadium anode battery is.

Unlike the vanadium battery (all-vanadium redox flow battery) that caused a wave of discussion last year, the vanadium anode battery is still a lithium-ion battery.

Traditional lithium-ion battery charging time is affected by the speed of lithium ions flowing into and out of the anode. The graphite used in the anode has a planar structure and can slide freely between them.

Different from traditional lithium electronic batteries, TyFast uses lithium vanadium oxide (LVO) to make the battery anode, which has two major advantages over graphite.

On the one hand, the transmission speed of lithium vanadium oxide (LVO) is 10 times that of graphite, which greatly reduces the charging time. On the other hand, during charging and discharging, lithium vanadium oxide (LVO) expands and contracts less than Graphite, which means less mechanical and chemical damage to the anode, thereby extending battery life.

But vanadium anode batteries also have disadvantages. Compared with graphite, the same mass of LVO contains fewer ions, and More expensive, about twice as expensive as graphite anodes. However, the research team believes that because LVO has a longer life cycle, it can make up for its high cost.

In 2020, UCSD nanoengineers and co-founders of Tyfast first reported the LVO anode in Nature magazine. Currently, the product of vanadium anode battery is still on the plan.

With the iteration of technology, it may be able to meet the market in the near future.

Hybrid Discharge Technology

In the context of global carbon neutrality, the dominance of traditional fuel vehicles in the market is gradually being shaken by new energy vehicles. Electrification and intelligence continue to reshape the entire car Industrial form, however, when a new thing appears, problems related to it also arise.

Traditional fuel vehicles that rely on fuel to run can cause car fires in the event of a collision. Will electric vehicles that rely on high-voltage batteries also suffer from electric shock after a collision? Previously, there had been a wave of discussion in the industry.

Relevant research shows that although the probability of occurrence is small, it is still possible.

In electric vehicles, components such as power batteries, drive motors, high-voltage distribution boxes and high-voltage wiring harnesses form the high-voltage system of the entire vehicle. Generally speaking, the battery voltage of electric vehicles is in the 336-800V range.

In vehicle manufacturing, in order to prevent high-voltage electric shock, electric vehicles will have built-in electric shock protection devices. After a collision, the car's central control system will cut off the corresponding high-voltage circuit. Specifically, when the car power supply If the currents in the live and neutral wires are not equal, the circuit breaker will immediately trip, isolating the battery from other components and disconnecting it from the drive motor through the gearbox.

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Regulation R94 stipulates that after a collision, the voltage of any vehicle component other than the battery itself must be reduced to a safe level (60 V) in less than one minute.

However, in reality, when a car collides, the residual electrical energy and mechanical energy stored in the capacitor and motor respectively will maintain the initial current level in the DC bus for more than 5 minutes, which not only violates high-voltage safety requirements, but also And it increases the possibility of electric shock.

In July this year, Dr Yihua Hu, associate professor at the University of York in the UK, and his research team proposed a technology that can significantly reduce the chance of this happening. The relevant research was published in the "IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics" .

Dr Yihua Hu and his research team proposed that fast and safe discharge can be achieved by assisting the external discharge circuit through the internal machine winding. Simulations and experiments have been carried out on the motor system in the laboratory.

Experimental results show that the combination of circuit bleeders and internal machine windings can safely reduce the voltage of the DC bus to 60 V in just 5 seconds.

It is understood that this technology can reduce the size of the internal machine burning group and achieve lightweight and low-cost discharge technology. The team is currently working with two companies, Dynex Semiconductor and Lotus Cars, in the real world. testing this technology.

Carbon Ceramic Brake Disc

In the development trend of electrification and intelligence, the advantages of carbon ceramic brake discs have become increasingly prominent.

Compared with traditional brake discs made of metal materials, carbon ceramic brake discs are more resistant to high temperatures, have higher friction performance and are more stable. In the braking system, they can reduce heat and fire caused by friction. ACCIDENT.

The density of carbon ceramic brake discs is lower. At the same size, carbon ceramic brake discs are more than half lighter than traditional brake discs. Carbon ceramic brakes are a key component for weight reduction in electric vehicles. It has been popular in the market in recent years.

Carbon ceramic brake pads are more in line with the trend of intelligent development. The use of carbon ceramic brake pads can significantly improve response speed and shorten braking distance.

In recent times, carbon ceramic brake discs have been frequently mentioned in the automotive market. Not long ago, Tianyi Shangjia announced that it has been designated by a car company for development and will soon enter the carbon ceramic brake discs for specific models. Dynamic disk development and supply process.

In June this year, Jinbo Co., Ltd. became the designated supplier of GAC Aian carbon ceramic brake discs. Only one month later, it was designated by BYD again.

In recent years, domestic OEMs have increased their deployment of carbon ceramic brake discs.

In fact, it is not too late for carbon ceramic brake pads to appear on the market. As early as the 1999 International Automobile Trade Fair, the mysterious veil of carbon ceramic brake pads was unveiled. In 2021, Tesla announced that it would provide carbon ceramic brake kits for its fastest production car, the Model S Plaid.

Carbon ceramic brake discs have obvious advantages, but due to high cost constraints, it is difficult to apply them commercially on a large scale. Previously, carbon ceramic brake pads only appeared on high-end brand models, but now with the advancement of technology With iteration, costs have been reduced, and carbon-ceramic brake discs are accelerating their use in cars.

2023 is considered the first year for the scale of carbon ceramic brake discs. Statistics from China Merchants Securities show that the domestic market is expected to reach 7.8 billion yuan in 2025, and the domestic market size is expected to exceed 20 billion yuan in 2030.

800-volt charging system

"An electric car can be fully charged in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee." After the emergence of the 800-volt charging system, this vision is slowly becoming a reality.

The trend of electrification has given rise to a lot of range anxiety, and the problem of "difficulty in charging" has made many consumers shy away from electric vehicles.

How to improve battery life and charging efficiency is urgent.

Since the energy density of power batteries is difficult to increase significantly in a short period of time, players have begun to rely on increasing the voltage or current of the battery under the same size to achieve "super fast charging". Among them, The 800-volt charging system has become one of the important carriers to improve charging efficiency.

At present, the 400-volt charging system is still commonly used in the market, and the 800-volt charging system is a relatively new concept.

The so-called 800-volt charging system improves the charging performance of the battery and the efficiency of the vehicle operation by doubling the voltage and the same current. Under the same battery size, the 800-volt charging system can charge This cuts the time in half, significantly reducing battery size and cost.

It is understood that using an 800-volt, 350-kilowatt charger, the charging time for 100 kilometers only takes 5-7 minutes.

The 800-volt charging system has obvious advantages, but it is not easy to put it into use on a large scale. It faces cost difficulties.

When a car is equipped with an 800-volt high-voltage architecture, it is often necessary to re-select the battery pack, electric drive, PTC, air-conditioning compressor, on-board charger, etc. of the electric vehicle.

The second is the equipment of related facilities. Most of the charging piles and distribution networks on the market match the 400-volt charging system. If they are put into use without re-construction or innovation, it will bring greater risks.

Electrification transformation is gaining momentum, and related auto parts suppliers have also increased their deployment of 800-volt charging systems.

ZF began mass production of 800-volt power electronics in Central Europe last year, and this year increased investment in the domestic market. In September this year, the 800-volt silicon carbide electric drive axle officially rolled off the production line at the Xiaoshan factory in Hangzhou. Previously, Huawei, BorgWarner, Inovance Technology, etc. released 800-volt electric drive systems; Audi E-tron GT and Porsche Taycan were the first to use 800-volt charging systems on the market.

Domestic car companies are not far behind. At last year's Guangzhou Auto Show, BYD e-platform 3.0, Geely SEA Haohan platform, etc. all chose 800V high-voltage architecture.

The "super fast charging" attribute of the 800-volt charging system is undoubtedly a major trend in electric vehicle charging.

CTC Technology

In 2022, standing at the forefront of the power battery market, companies such as Weilai and Sinopec are holding banners and strutting towards the avenue of battery replacement technology. On the other side of the road, Ningde Times and Teslas are coming one after another.

This fork in the road is CTC (Cell to Chassis, no battery pack) technology.

Before understanding CTC technology, you need to first understand traditional battery packs and CTP batteries.

The inherent structure of the traditional battery pack is "cell-module-battery pack", which is connected in series by using a large number of cables and structural parts. Under this structure, the space in the battery pack can be efficiently utilized. It is lower and the entire power battery is also bulkier.

In order to improve the utilization efficiency in the battery pack, CTP technology came into being. CTP technology directly integrates the battery cells into the battery pack to form an internal structure of "cell-battery pack", thereby increasing the space of the battery pack. Utilization rate, under CTP technology, the battery power can be increased by 5%-10% compared with traditional battery packs. BYD's blade battery is an integration of CTP technology.

CTC technology is considered to be a further integration of CTP technology. The so-called CTC technology cancels the PACK design, directly installs the cells or modules directly on the vehicle body, and uses the vehicle body structure as the battery pack shell.

Compared with CTP batteries, CTC batteries are more integrated and can achieve longer cruising range at a lower cost. It is understood that CTC technology can increase battery power by another 5% based on CTP technology - 10%.

CTC is considered to be the key direction of the future battery technology route, and various companies are competing to pursue it.

As early as last January at the 10th Global New Energy Vehicle Conference, CATL revealed that it would officially launch highly integrated CTC battery technology around 2025. In June of the same year, Tesla announced Announcement of CTC plan.

Currently, CTC technology has entered the commercial application level. Leapao C01 is the first to apply self-developed CTC technology. Tesla’s Model Y produced at the Berlin factory in Germany will also use CTC batteries (Tesla said for structural batteries).

Unlike capital’s enthusiasm for CTC technology, consumers are slightly worried about the development of CTC technology.

On the one hand, in CTC technology, the battery core is directly involved in the collision force. In the absence of module and battery pack protection, safety problems are more likely to occur. On the other hand, CTC battery integration and integration The chemical structure is inconvenient to disassemble during later maintenance, which greatly increases the cost of maintenance.

Written at the end

Survey data shows that "for every 10kg reduction in the weight of pure electric vehicles, the cruising range can be increased by 2.5km." In the new energy vehicle market where many players are competing, "weight reduction" has become The key proposition of all new energy vehicle companies is that lightweight technology is undoubtedly the biggest weapon in the battle for new energy vehicles.

Some of the above-mentioned technologies are still in the laboratory stage, and some have made great strides towards the market. However, before they can be mass-produced on a large scale, they may all face technical and cost difficulties.

But in the end "success" or "failure", the market will naturally give the answer.

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