The current biggest cost to electric vehicles is the battery pack.
Current battery technology is all focused-on Lithium-ion cells either in hard case cells like Tesla uses or soft case pouches like GM is using.
There are positive and negative aspects to either cell type, yet the one thing all these cells have in common is an Anode and Cathode construction with a separator in between. As a battery is charged you have power move from the cathode to the anode moving through the separator and as the battery discharges, the reverse happens move from the anode side to the cathode side in a very simple explanation.
Our Next Energy (ONE) is a private startup looking to accelerate the transition to sustainable power by creating innovative energy storage solutions per their company website.
ONE was founded on the following three principles:
- Double the range of electric vehicles
- Use safer and more sustainable raw materials
- Establish a localized supply chain
ONE is led by the following team:
ONE was founded July 2020 and had a successful funding round October 18th, 2021, with a $25 million dollar series A funding by Assembly Ventures and four other private investors. On March 1st, 2022, $65 million Series A funding was achieved from Assembly Ventures and five other private investors for a total of $90 million funding to date. ONE currently has approximately 51-100 employees per their financial details.
September 13, 2022 ONE unveiled a 240-Ah prismatic anode-free cell after a successful 12-month R&D effort. ONE believes their anode-free cell is the highest energy density large-format cell ever produced today.
ONE has announced that their GeminiTM dual-chemistry architecture will be used by BMW in their iX prototype vehicle later this year for testing.
To quote Mujeeb Ijaz, founder and CEO of ONE, “Our prismatic anode-free cell is produced with approximately half of current cell manufacturing equipment for equivalent capacity, allowing us to sharply reduce scale-up cost,”
ONE's first-generation 1007 Wh/L cell eliminates the need for graphite and anode manufacturing equipment, thus enabling a $50 per kWh cost at scale.
ONE has pointed out the following information about anode-free cells, in the past, these cells had limited use due to a low cycle life making them not viable for electric vehicle use. ONE's Gemini dual-chemistry architecture has reduced cycle and peak power requirements by 90%. Gemini pairs standardized LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) and anode-free chemistries into a single battery pack. This special chemistry allows the battery to focus on the two different functions that an EV would use. LFP for daily driving and anode-free for extended long distances. Benefit is the Gemini cells are able to deliver more than 250,000 miles of lifetime service.
Quoting Steven Kaye, ONE Chief Technical Officer: “Scaling 100x from a 2 Ah pouch cell to a 240 Ah prismatic in less than 12 months is a testament to the simplicity of the design and ability to use conventional Li-ion production equipment,” “We are moving faster than the fastest research programs that I have been a part of. Gemini will reach volume production in 2026 accelerating electric vehicle adoption by delivering 600 miles of range in a wide range of vehicle platforms, including trucks and SVUs.”
Why is this a big deal one might ask? Currently since the start of the company, ONE built their Aries and Aries-II LFP battery packs that use NO Nickel or Cobalt for a more sustainable supply. These battery packs go into production in 2023 and will be found in various fleet type EVs. 300 plus miles of range depending on implementation with customizable battery pack building.
Long term for the company is their Gemini cells, in a Gemini Dual-Chemistry 1007 Wh/L battery pack.
These LFP plus Anode-free cells is the special sauce where the battery pack has the LFP for local driving delivering 150 miles of range and the anode-free cells pack 450 miles of range, acting as an energy reserve that recharges the LFP cells when needed.
ONE durable LFP cells pack 441 Wh/L and are designed for daily driving powering the vehicle motor, acting as the primary traction battery with the 150 miles of stored energy range.
The Anode-free side is the 566 Wh/L long range power storage. The Gemini pairs these two unique chemistries together, each doing the job they do best, Anode-free cells of High Energy density, LFP for power and durability.
On January 5th, 2022, ONE retrofitted a Tesla Model S with a 203.7 KWh battery pack and an energy density of 416 Wh/L allowing for a 752 miles of travel @ 55mph without recharging.
A third party validated and full details can be read here: ONE Battery Powers Electric Vehicle 752 Miles Without Charging
Founder and CEO of ONE, Mujeeb Ijaz had this to say: “We want to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by eliminating range anxiety, which holds back most consumers today,”
Until now, the industry approach in solving range anxiety is to add more charging stations where people are stopping every 150 miles or so, having to wait in long lines for partial charges at various rates extending travel time.
ONE GeminiTM battery solution is to offer enough range for every consumer to make an electric vehicle their only vehicle.
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