Text/James Morris
Battery technology for electric vehicles is developing rapidly. On the one hand, the cost of the same capacity is now about 10% of what it was a decade ago, and it continues to fall; on the other hand, as prices fall and chemical composition adjusts, the density and longevity of energy will increase further, and more radical design changes are coming. The owner of a small professional performance car company thinks his latest development could revolutionize the way batteries are managed.
Dennis Palatov is the driving force behind Palatov Motorsport LLC. For more than a decade, he has been using various types of engines to customize track-centric, high-performance cars. One of Palatov's most recent standout models is the 2019 DEC2EV, a giant electric car developed in partnership with Cascadia Motion that delivers 1,300 horsepower. The car can reach speeds of 120 mph in 5.2 seconds, with the goal of conquering Pike's Peak and then setting a new speed record on Bonneville Salt Lake in Utah, USA.
Since then, Palatov has been constantly developing electrical performance, with one of its latest products being the upcoming D8. The D2EV is a special model for racing only, while the D8 is more like a hybrid in the supercar genre. The Palatov is able to offer a wide range of drivetrain options for vehicles, but the all-electric version is the most interesting model, as it will serve as a test bed for new battery management innovations. In addition, it will showcase the unique technology of NFT that is currently popular in the art world.
The Palatov D8 will showcase innovations in battery architecture
Modular series batteries
In the process of developing the electric powertrain, Palatov came up with some new ideas for battery pack design, followed by the formation of a new company, Modular battery Technologies Inc., or Mobatt for short, whose basic idea was to rearrange the way batteries and modules are assembled in the car's battery system. The current design is to connect the batteries in parallel within a module and then connect the modules in series to obtain the voltage required for the entire system, 400V or (most recently) 800V. The problem with this approach is that parallel units can only be monitored normally, not individually. If one of the batteries is short-circuited, all other batteries deliver all their energy into the faulty battery, resulting in an uncontrollable current.
Palatov's idea, along with Modbatt's technology (which is currently patent pending), is based on having the batteries inside the modules run in series to provide the necessary voltage to each module, rather than in parallel. Each battery will be connected to the system via a relay at 800V, so if the system fails, the system can be shut down and fully isolated. Each individual unit has its own SmartCell to monitor temperature and voltage, while it can communicate with the module controller and the entire BMS throughout the chain.
Since the only control function of the current battery management system is to shut down the entire battery pack, if one of the batteries in the module fails, the vehicle may no longer be able to operate. Modbatt's system can immediately disconnect the faulty module, stop the current of the faulty unit, and allow all other modules to continue to operate normally. This management system has better monitoring of the condition of individual batteries and is therefore safer.
Another advantage of this system is that each module is already equivalent to the total voltage level of the entire system, so modules can be added in parallel as needed to meet the total capacity (kWh) required. In each component, it is even possible to mix modules of different chemical compositions, some of which may have better durability and some of which have higher densities. Or a more modular battery replacement is also possible without having to replace the entire battery assembly.
The D8's battery pack capacity can be extended to 60kWh
See the D8 up close: electric racing or NFT artwork?
Let's go back to the topic of D8 and see how Palatov intends to combine the Mobatt battery system with NFT technology. The first thing to mention is that the car is very fast and its all-wheel drive motor will provide 900 horsepower. While not as much horsepower as the Tesla S Plaid's 1,000 horsepower, the D8 weighs just 2,300 pounds (just over 1,000 kilograms), less than half the weight of the Tesla S. As a result, Palatov expects the car to take less than 2 seconds to accelerate to 60 mph, with a top speed of 200 mph.
In addition, the Modbatt modular system will mean that the battery capacity configuration can be quickly adjusted between 30kWh and 60kWh, while too little capacity will not provide full engine performance, so 40kWh is the recommended minimum. Due to its light weight, the D8 will have a range of 300 miles. As for its legality, it depends on the relevant regulations of the relevant country or the US state, but the regulator will mainly pay attention to the full performance of the car measured in a safe environment. Without assistive devices such as traction control or power steering, the D8 is capable of delivering half the downforce of an F1 car at 100 mph. Therefore, this may provide an original and thrilling driving experience that is best suited for those who really know how to drive a high-performance vehicle.
Modbatt's technology also allows for remote battery control and authentication, which uses blockchain technology and is also the point of convergence between NFTs and D8. Batteries can be enabled individually or disabled remotely, and their blockchain ID allows tracking of the entire battery lifecycle from manufacturing to recycling. Palatov is auctioning eight limited-edition D8s for sale as "mixed reality" artworks, each with a unique NFT identifier and a virtual part of a 3D rendered video of the vehicle. The car itself is a physical expression of the NFT, with matching serial numbers. Owners can also enjoy up to eight days of private track days a year at Oregon Raceway Park, where they can explore the true capabilities of the D8. The price per D8 is about $1 million.
The D8 is clearly a star car for a very small number of buyers, but it shows how Mobatt's technology can add useful features to the batteries of electric cars, such as making packaging more modular, and making the monitoring of management systems more granular, which will make the evaluation and maintenance results of health systems more accurate. Blockchain's capabilities allow people to remotely disable batteries when a car is stolen, or pinpoint the location of faults in a battery pack. Either way, it shows that with the popularity of electric vehicles, the pace of development of battery technology is accelerating.
James Morris is a Forbes contributor whose views are personal only.