After years of research, Toshiba has announced that is has developed a new version of SCiB battery that can be recharged faster than the ones offered by its competitors, while also being able to store more power.
The company has previously introduced its SCiB rechargeable batteries in 2008. These were different from the lithium-ion ones in the sense that they used lithium titanium oxide(LTO) for the anode.
Toshiba stated that LTO is a good choice for the anode material due to the fact that it improves battery performance at low temperatures, it offers great power density, it leads to a longer battery life and a battery built with it is more resistant to external damage.
The new battery uses another material for its anode, and tests have shown that it managed to maintain 90% of its capacity after 5,000 charging cycles. This performance is due to replacing the LTO with titanium niobium oxide. This modification has also made the battery less susceptible to lithium metal deposition during ultra-rapid recharging.
The manufacturer claims that the battery requires just 6 minutes of recharge from a high power recharger in order to add up to 200 miles to the range of an electric vehicle. Unfortunately, the company has not specified what “High power” means with regards to their product. Fast charging stations differ from one manufacturer to another. The Tesla Superchargers have 135 kW of power, the ABB that will become available in the future will have up to 35 kW, however, most of the systems that are currently available in the US are limited to 50kW.
Hopefully, Toshiba will release more details soon, so that the EV industry will have an idea of how the company’s battery will fit into future models.
Dr. Osamu Hori, the director of Toshiba’s corporate research & development center said: “Rather than an incremental improvement, this is a game-changing advance that will make a significant difference to the range and performance of EV. We will continue to improve the battery’s performance and aim to put the next-generation SCiB™ into practical application in the fiscal year 2019.”
With several carmakers having announced new electric vehicles models in the next few years, the new SCiB designed by Toshiba can certainly revolutionize the market, as long as it delivers on the company’s promises and will have a competitive price.
