Our Next Energy’s innovative storage system contains two cells that use different battery chemicals to meet the needs of urban routes and longer journeys
The Gemini battery has close to 1,000 km of autonomy with one charge
It has a capacity of over 185 kWh, an energy density of 260 Wh/kg, and a long life of “420 thousand km“. These numbers distinguish Gemini, the double chemical battery of Our Next Energy (ONE). The company announced that its storage system has allowed a BMW ix to travel 979 km with a single charge. An important result that sweeps away any anxiety or fear of autonomy and owes its merit to the particular internal architecture of the Gemini battery.
If LPF joins batteries without an anode
The system employs two different types of lithium electrochemical cells: one of the type LFP (lithium iron phosphate) for daily driving and one anode-free for longer trips. A DC-DC converter shifts the energy between them seamlessly, while the “skip-cell” architecture – developed ad hoc and patented – drastically reduces the risk of thermal leakage and overheating.
Anode-free cells represent one of the most promising advances of the last period. In this architecture, there is only a lithium-rich cathode connected directly to a metal current collector. When the battery is charged, the active lithium ions are released from the cathode and deposited on the metal current collector, which serves as a temporary anode. Individually taken these batteries provide a high density of gravimetric and volumetric energy but the reduced cycle time compared to conventional cells, makes them unusable in an automotive environment. Hence the idea of ONE to combine them with LFP batteries.
Gemini battery pack, -20% lithium
In the dual-chemical architecture of the Gemini battery, LFP cells power the engine and meet the needs of 99% of daily journeys with a range of 80 km. For longer journeys, the system switches to anode-free lithium metal cells providing an additional 724 km of autonomy. The volumes remain those of a traditional battery pack. In addition to the extended range, ONE technology reduces the use of lithium by up to 20%, and graphite by 60% and minimizes the amounts of nickel and cobalt. In addition, as Mujeeb Ijaz, founder, and CEO of ONE, explains, their anode-free prismatic cell “is produced with about half of current cell production equipment for equivalent capacity, allowing us to drastically reduce industrialization costs”.
“The more than 970 km achieved by the Gemini-equipped BMW ix is an impressive demonstration,” said Jürgen Hildinger, head of high-voltage storage at BMW Group New Technologies. “We love working with the ONE team and we look forward to making the next progress together”.
