Capacity and service life offer cost benefits
The higher usable capacity of ecovolta’s evoTractionBattery and the significantly longer service life of its Li-ion technology offer major benefits in comparison to lead-acid batteries. Traditional lead-acid batteries can only be discharged to 50 percent of their capacity at most, whereas 90 percent of the capacity of ecovolta’s lithium-ion batteries can be used. Moreover, the new generation of batteries can be charged and discharged about 3,000 times, compared to only around 1,200 times for lead-acid batteries.
For an example capacity of around 10 kWh, the new solution can reduce costs by up to 50% per charge and discharge cycle. The charging time and weight will also be scaled back by over 80 percent.
“Until now, lithium-ion technology hadn’t caught on in logistics since the increased initial capital costs put a cap on the economic viability in comparison to lead-acid batteries. But the evoTractionBattery is changing that, enabling a 10-kWh lead-acid battery to be quickly and easily replaced by a 5-kWh lithium-ion solution at a low cost,” says Paul Hauser, CTO of ecovolta.
Simplified handling and flexible construction
The evoTractionBattery’s specifications also make it much more user-friendly. Unlike with lead-acid batteries, boosting charges do not have a negative effect on the service life of this lithium-ion battery. Combined with quicker charging and a greater depth of discharge, this means that operators of industrial vehicles are no longer limited by restrictive charging regulations or the need to change out batteries. Lithium-ion batteries also do not require the maintenance that lead-acid batteries do.
Voltage ranges of 24 V to 800 V and capacities of 2.5 kWh to 7,500 kWh can be achieved with discharging currents of up to 500 A by connecting the batteries to form strings in any series configuration or in parallel. The standard casing with defined surface dimensions of 520 x 220 mm ensures clear parameters for construction.
Support for replacing lead-acid batteries in existing systems
ecovolta offers various services to support companies in integrating the lithium-ion solution, including charging infrastructure design and capacity planning. This enables many companies to reduce the overall number of vehicles in operation since lithium-ion batteries can be charged more quickly than conventional lead-acid batteries.
Proprietary construction system
ecovolta uses a specialised construction system for the evoTractionBattery which enables the fully automated batch production of high-current capable lithium-ion batteries that do not require active cooling.
The integrated battery management system enables master/slave operation of multiple batteries connected to a CAN bus. This allows the batteries to exchange information with the higher-level control system — a prerequisite for efficiently and safely operating vehicles. Comprehensive safety technology with a relay and fuse also makes up an integral part of the package.
