Company Reaches Breakthrough On New EV Battery Technology That Will Lead To Safer Cars And Longer Driving Ranges

Significant progress is emerging in Michigan in electric vehicle batteries made from cheaper, locally sourced metals to power cars and light trucks.

InsideEVs reported that Our Next Energy, also known as ONE, began operations in 2020. Now Aries II developers are promising longer life, greater safety and more sustainable manufacturing, as they plan to launch their innovation next year.

It's all part of a technology race led by battery experts from around the world. They are looking for the best combination of metals and other materials to create the chemistry needed to charge and discharge batteries with high efficiency and low cost.

The Aries II has better battery chemistry than the ONE experts. They use iron and manganese instead of nickel and cobalt in lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Cobalt and nickel are among the most expensive metals commonly used in power supplies for electric vehicles in the United States and the most difficult to extract. However, most of the iron used by ONE comes from North America as part of its low-cost approach.

According to ONE, the Aries II has a range of 350 kilometers, achieved in part by including more cells in the power pack. Thin cells reduce heat, making the battery safer. Iron-based chemistry increases energy density by 16%.

“When the team faced the challenge of achieving energy parity with (nickel-cobalt) batteries, we looked at everything from optimizing the cell chemistry to redesigning the inside of the pack,” Chris Hughes, chief battery engineer at ONE, told InsideEVs. .

Bringing lithium iron phosphate's performance closer to the range of nickel and cobalt is remarkable, as nickel and cobalt have a long history of use in the electric vehicle industry, according to InsideEVs. The report says the ONE design costs 25% less to produce, largely because expensive nickel and cobalt are not needed. The company reports that its lithium iron phosphate technology can match the "range and mass" of nickel cobalt to an accuracy of up to 6%.

Additionally, ONE expects the Aries II to be widely used and “customizable to all passenger cars,” according to a video.

The clip shows the packaging being manufactured at the Michigan factory. It is said to fit under the car's body, between the front and rear axles.

It's a busy time for ONE, which was recently named the third best employer for startups by Forbes. The company has also expanded into networking technology, and was valued at more than $1 billion in a recent investment round, according to the company's editorial team.

Aries II production is expected to begin in late 2024 at the Van Buren Township plant, but ONE promises to build more. In 2025, officials plan to introduce the Gemini, which is expected to travel more than 600 miles on a single charge.

“Mass adoption of electric vehicles will not happen until drivers feel comfortable with owning an electric vehicle as their only vehicle. Consumers want a range of vehicles that allow them to travel across the country,” ONE says on its website.

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New battery technology brings us very close to affordable electric cars within a 600-mile range