The American start-up One has developed a prototype battery that has enabled a Tesla Model S to travel nearly 1,210 km. Gemini, name of the battery, aims to integrate less cobalt and nickel while preserving energy density.
Making in one go a Detroit-Chicago-Detroit or, closer to home, a Lille-Marseille-Lille in an electric vehicle could be possible in the future. In any case, this is the promise made by One, an American start-up founded by Mujeeb Ijaz, a former executive of Apple and A123 Systems, specialist in the development of battery packs for electric vehicles.
Gemini is the first prototype battery produced by One. This was installed aboard a Tesla Model S, chosen for “Its high efficiency and a fairly large battery pack” to accommodate the Gemini prototype.
During a test drive in December 2021 in the state of Michigan, the Tesla Model S drove nearly 1,210 km. All with a single charge and at an average speed of 88/90 km / h. The test is all the more conclusive that in Michigan the average temperature felt is –5 to –6 ° C at this time of the year.
One’s goal is to offer battery packs free of cobalt and nickel, but “without giving up energy density”. For it, “we want to reinvent the chemistry of batteries as well as the architecture of cells”Said Mujeeb Ijaz, the goal being to ensure a range of at least 1,210 km between charges. Today, only the Lucid Air is capable of offering nearly 805 km of range on a single charge. Mujeeb Ijaz said the first Gemini battery packs are expected to hit the market by the end of 2023.
This prototype will be one to follow closely insofar as, today, one of the main obstacles to the purchase of an electric car, in addition to the problems related to the charging network, remains the autonomy.