The unique technology fits perfectly with our vision of a sustainable battery. It is fair as well as resource friendly, and, unlike lithium-ion equivalents, this battery's cell chemistry contains no cobalt, nickel or manganese. Due to their special properties, the advanced LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries are also effectively non-flammable. Even after long and intensive use, they display only low power losses, giving them a particularly long service life.
LFP batteries are particularly durable. The battery displays impressively low power loss, even after a high number of charging cycles, and is often used as a storage device in the photovoltaic industry. This is also where longevity and high cycle numbers play an important role.
Use of this type of battery can continue well after this, for example as a home storage system. This creates further argumentation for its use as it is clearly more sustainable due to its increased longevity, an aspect that is greatly important for us. We are currently in the definition phase of the warranty and will announce this as soon as possible.
A capacity of 54 kWh is expected to extend the Sion's range to around 305 km. It has a maximum charging rate of up to 75 kW and therefore an expectant time to a 100% state of charge of around 5 hours at 11 kW, and 60 minutes at 75 kW.
In terms of recycling, LFP batteries have certain advantages over other battery technologies. The metal combinations can be completely recycled. The additional absence of heavy metals means that the electrode materials and polymer separators can also be recycled to a high degree. The longevity of the LFP battery and the high degree of recyclability make it the perfect solution for the Sion.
This technology is very clearly focused on safety and durability. It is also less prone to severe damage and therefore battery fires can largely be ruled out. Its packaging has also been improved by up 25% compared to conventional lithium iron phosphate block batteries. Safety tests, such as the nail penetration test, show only low surface temperatures for the battery, of 30-60°C, when damaged. Ordinary NCM block batteries, on the other hand, reach up to 200-400°C and some lithium-ion batteries even 500°C+. Under test conditions the battery was not at risk of fire or explosion, even if significantly overcharged.
Lithium phosphate battery technology is used as the basis for the battery. At the positive electrode, the battery's cells consist of iron phosphate, rather than cobalt oxide, as in many other applications. This allows us to avoid the use of heavy metals such as cobalt and manganese. The elongated cells are arranged lengthwise within the battery housing and together form the compact battery pack.
The longest possible service life with regard to conserving resources can only be guaranteed with a high-performance thermal management. Therefore, the battery has liquid temperature control and can be actively cooled and heated via an integrated base plate. This ensures that each battery cell is kept within an optimum temperature range of 15-35° C at all times. This thermal management also guarantees consistently high charging performances, even after several rapid charging processes.
We see ourselves as responsible to be working toward improvements in the supply chain. We have therefore incorporated environmental protection and social justice into our purchasing guidelines.
We seek to require all of our suppliers and contractors to uphold human rights, exclude discrimination, combat forced, punitive or child labor, and keep the impact of their actions on both the natural world and the environment as low as possible.
We aim to work in cooperation with our partners, other companies and NGOs towards long term transparency for the entire supply chain as well as the improvement of working conditions in mining regions.
The battery production generates roughly 4.1 tonnes of CO₂. For reference - a return flight from Munich to New York City emits about the same amount of CO₂.
The amount of a battery's CO₂ emissions are influenced by several factors. These include the origin of the raw materials and especially the electricity used during its energy-intensive production. We fully offset all unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions along the upstream value chain including production.
The depictions provided are intended for illustrative purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the actual product.
