AlphaG
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2019
- Threads
- 3
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- 73
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- Location
- South Texas
- Vehicles
- Lotus Elise, Chevy Volt, Model X
There are tradeoffs with using cylindrical cells. You can not compare the range of SUVs and smaller sedans like the M3 and draw conclusions based on the range differences. That’s like saying oh, my Range Rover gets worse MPG than my Lotus, so the Lotus must have newer technology under the hood!The Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace are using the latest pouch/prismatic cells. They have 95 kWh and 90 kWh batteries respectively. The e-tron has an EPA range of 204 miles. The iPace range is 234 miles. Both source their cells from LG Chem, as does Porsche. Is LG Chem reserving some super duper cells just for Porsche and withholding them from stablemate Audi? I doubt it.
Battery cell chemistry and battery capacity are not the sole determinants of range. Motor efficiency, inverter efficiency, curb weight and aerodynamics play a very big role. Hopefully Porsche will be better than Audi and Jaguar in all of these metrics and show superior range. But to expect them to best Tesla with their first BEV effort is not in the cards IMO.
Incidently, while the pouch/prismatic form factor may be newer than cylindrical, the energy density of Tesla's NCA chemistry is superior to the NMC chemistry used by the others. The downside is that it requires a much more sophisticated Battery Management System, including cooling, to mitigate the risks of the more volatile NCA chemistry. So it is easier for an OEM to build battery packs with NMC pouch cells but they give up some energy density.
The technology is applied to the specific purpose. I don’t know why Porsche chose pouch cells over prismatic or cylindrical, but that does not mean they are years behind Tesla. That is primarily what I’m trying to convey. We know too very little at this point about the Taycan’s battery system to draw conclusions based on cell type or inappropriate range comparisons.
You may very well be correct in the end, but I am going to wait to see what the car is capable of before coming to any conclusions.
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