With the change of people's travel mode and the increase in the range of activities, the demand for long-range electric vehicles is gradually increasing. Claiming that its flagship products can reach 200~300 kilometers, such as Yadea Guanneng E10, Emma Air Force One A500, Tailing Super Energy S Extraordinary Grandmaster, and Luyuan MEK, these electric vehicles are the flagship models of various brands, representing the top car-making level of each brand.
These electric vehicles are all priced at more than 4,500 yuan, and they all have one feature in common, all of which use 72-volt 38-amp graphene batteries. Graphene battery is an upgraded version of ordinary lead-acid battery, the advantage is high safety, the disadvantage is short service life, lithium battery just makes up for the shortcomings of lead-acid battery, with the advantages of fast charging speed and long service life. So, why do these car companies not use lithium batteries, but use graphene batteries?
Introduction to "graphene battery": Batteries made of graphene and graphene flakes can be called "graphene batteries", but strictly speaking, all "graphene batteries" on the market are pseudo concepts. The graphene battery claimed by the manufacturer is nothing more than an upgraded version of the ordinary lead-acid battery.
The real graphene battery is a battery technology that has more advantages than the lead-acid battery. It mainly uses graphene, which has the advantages of higher energy density, longer service life, shorter charging time and higher safety than traditional lead-acid batteries.
However, most of the so-called "graphene batteries" on the market are based on traditional lead-acid batteries with a small amount of graphene materials added to improve the performance of the battery. This "graphene battery" is not a graphene battery in the true sense of the word, but a pseudo-concept.
Advantages of "graphene battery": graphene battery is an upgraded version of ordinary lead-acid battery, compared with ordinary lead-acid battery, it has higher energy density, longer service life, cheap price, recyclable, stable performance of raw materials, even if overcharged, over-discharged, it will not catch fire, and it is safer to use.
Disadvantages of "graphene battery": compared with the life of thousands of cycles of lithium batteries, graphene batteries have a short service life, only about 600 times of charge and discharge. In addition, graphene batteries are large in size, positive in weight, low in energy density, poor in low temperature resistance, overcharged batteries are easy to bulge and deform in summer, and excessive discharge will shorten the service life of the battery, so if you want to extend the service life of graphene batteries, you must learn the correct charging method.
Lithium battery introduction: Lithium battery is a kind of battery that uses lithium metal or lithium alloy as the positive/negative electrode material and uses non-aqueous electrolyte solution. Due to the very active chemical properties of lithium metal, the processing, storage and use of lithium metal have very high environmental requirements. Lithium batteries used in electric vehicles are divided into lithium iron phosphate batteries, ternary lithium batteries and lithium manganese oxide batteries.
Advantages of lithium batteries: Compared with graphene batteries, lithium batteries have a longer service life, usually with more than 1500 cycles of charging and discharging, and the service life is more than 5 years. In addition, lithium batteries also have the advantages of high energy density, small size, light weight, fast charging, and good low temperature resistance.
Disadvantages of lithium batteries: Some of the rare metals in the production of lithium batteries are imported raw materials, so the production cost of lithium batteries is high and the price is expensive. In addition, although lithium batteries have high energy density, lithium is a reactive metal, and lithium batteries are overcharged, over-discharged, and easily ignited and even exploded when impacted. In short videos, I often see that electric vehicle fires are caused by the use of lithium batteries, so the safety of lithium batteries is poor.
The disadvantages of graphene batteries are large size, heavy weight, long charging time, low energy density, poor low temperature resistance, and short life. The advantages of lithium batteries are small size, light weight, high energy density, fast charging, good low temperature resistance, and long life. It can be said that the advantages of lithium batteries just make up for the shortcomings of graphene batteries. So why do Yadea, Emma, Tailing and Luyuan's long-distance running king electric vehicles all use graphene batteries? There are three main reasons:
1. Mature technology:
The so-called "graphene batteries" on the market are upgraded versions of lead-acid batteries, which have experienced nearly 100 years of development and have the advantages of mature production technology and high market share. Therefore, it is natural for major electric vehicle manufacturers to use graphene batteries.
2. Cost Considerations:
Graphene batteries have a lower production cost than lithium batteries, which can reduce the production cost of electric vehicles, so that electric vehicles have a more competitive advantage in the market. Taking a 72-volt 38-amp battery as an example, the price of a lithium battery is 1000 yuan more expensive than a graphene battery.
Therefore, if all major brands of 72-volt 38-ampere electric vehicles use lithium batteries, the production cost of each vehicle will increase by 1,000 yuan, resulting in the high price of electric vehicles and discouragement for some consumers. On the contrary, the use of 72-volt 38-ampere graphene batteries can reduce the production cost by 1000 yuan, and it is also easier for consumers to accept.
3. Safety Considerations:
Safety is one of the most critical factors for people using electric vehicles. We often see in short videos that electric vehicles have fires, deflagrations and other accidents during charging or driving, which often pose a serious threat to the lives of users. Most of these accidents are caused by lithium batteries, because lithium batteries are a reactive metal, and overcharge, overdischarge, short circuit, etc. can lead to fire.
In contrast, the graphene battery is an upgraded version of the lead-acid battery, which has the advantages of mature technology and stable production of raw materials. Even if overcharged, overdischarged, or impacted, the graphene battery will not catch fire. Therefore, major electric vehicle manufacturers choose to use graphene batteries from the safety aspect.
Summary:
Well-known electric vehicle companies such as Yadea, Emma, Tailing, and Luyuan have launched their own top models of 72-volt 38-ampere graphene batteries. These models are the flagship of every business and have an ultra-long range of more than 200 km. The reason why these companies choose to use graphene batteries is mainly because graphene batteries have the following advantages:
Good market share: Graphene battery is an upgraded product of lead-acid battery, which has experienced nearly a hundred years of development and has a higher share in the market, and consumers have a high degree of recognition for it. The production and manufacturing time of lithium batteries is short, the market share is low, and the consumer recognition of it is also low.
Good safety: Graphene batteries have good safety performance, even if they are overcharged, overdischarged, and impacted, they will not catch fire and burn, reducing potential safety hazards. The lithium battery is overcharged and over-discharged, which may catch fire and explode and endanger the personal safety of the user.
Low production cost: Compared with lithium batteries, graphene batteries have lower production costs and can bring higher profits to enterprises. If the manufacturing cost of electric vehicles with lithium batteries increases by at least 1,000 yuan, the price of electric vehicles is too high, fewer people buy them, and the profits of enterprises are low.
Therefore, electric vehicle manufacturers have chosen to use graphene batteries to improve the competitiveness and market share of their products.