The concept of range anxiety in electric cars is something companies take very seriously. No one wants to be stranded halfway with drained batteries, so a large part of the effort concentrates on improving range. Still, there are differences between one strategy and another. The case of Samsung SDI is very interesting: instead of increasing the number of batteries and adding weight to the car, it proposes offering units capable of delivering a range of 500 kilometers with a super-fast recharge of just 20 minutes.
The Range Anxiety Problem
The average range for a Tesla Model S is 420 kilometers. Of course, that number can vary depending on different factors (including the size of the tires), but it remains a fairly solid figure for most trips. However, quite a few people feel uncomfortable with such limits. When a fuel tank is about to run dry, the driver only needs to find a gas station, but the same mechanic doesn't always extend to an electrical outlet. The main idea is to improve density and make the car lighter to install more batteries... but there's also another possibility, and that's what Samsung SDI explores, supplying very high-profile companies, starting with BMW.
Samsung SDI's New Battery Generation
Samsung SDI announced a new generation of batteries with a range of 600 kilometers, but the story doesn't end there. Besides the optimized range, another feature is compatibility with a super-fast recharge of only 20 minutes, which restores a little over 80 percent of capacity, or about 500 kilometers. Samsung SDI's plan is to revalue opportunistic recharges over the classic mechanism of higher density and weight: The driver might not have many charging points on their route, but they only need a few minutes at each one they find.
Basically, Samsung SDI anticipates batteries that can be recharged to acceptable levels in the time it takes to have a coffee or lunch. How long until we see them on the road? According to the official announcement, general production will be enabled in the year 2021. The key behind this design is likely an optimized version of the 21700 cell, which on paper has 35 percent more capacity compared to the traditional 18650.
