US firm ONE to launch safer EV batteries in '24

Hyderabad: US-based energy storage company Our Next Energy (ONE) has said that it will roll out LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries for electric vehicles which are safer than NCM (nickel cobalt manganese) batteries. in 2024.

Mujeeb Ijaz, founder and chief executive officer of ONE, made the announcement to a group of journalists who were in Detroit, US, as part of international reporting tour organised by the US department of state.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Ijaz said, “LFP batteries have many advantages over NCM batteries, including cost and durability, while using safer and more abundant materials. However, the key shortfall has been range and energy density. By engineering a battery pack with similar energy density to NCM, ONE has made LFP a sustainable alternative."

Asked about India witnessing incidents of EV batteries catching fire, Ijaz, who has more than 30 years of experience in developing EVs and battery-systems technologies, said, "Excessive heating is one of the primary reason why an EV catches fire. The battery and when the heat combines with leaked fuel, the battery catches fire. AN LFP battery has safer chemistry because it avoids self-oxidation when a cell is crushed or shorted, while NCM batteries are far more prone to thermal runaway."

Asked about whether ONE has plans to enter the Indian market, Ijaz said, "We are confined to the US at present but we want to become a global supplier. We are exploring the possibility of entering other countries. We see these markets as very fascinating to get engaged in and there are intentions to do that but it also has to be the right time. We have to have the right conditions to flourish as a business and then there is a need to develop a local supply chain."

Ijaz said that the company was attempting to double the mileage that a charged battery system can provide. Technical trials show that ONE is on its way to meeting the goal of a 600-mile-range battery system, he said.

"Today, an average of 300 miles per charge (about 480 km) is seen as a good goal, but I calculated that we needed around 600 miles (965 km) for the long-term market. We have demonstrated 600 miles of range on an SUV in the US. So I think there are technologies that will solve the range issue," Ijaz said.

As long as EVs use iron instead of cobalt in batteries, the cost differential will decline with economies of scale, he said. 

"Our differentiation is that we have found a way to increase the battery range to this level without nickel-cobalt."

The life of the battery is around 5 lakh miles (about 8 lakh kms) or an estimated 15 years and it takes two hours to charge completely.