As the competition in the NEV market intensifies, carmakers have opted to develop and manufacture their own power batteries and power battery systems (NEV platforms). Recently, major Chinese carmaker Dongfeng Motor announced that its R&D center has achieve a significant breakthrough in power battery system. Through its official WeChat account, Dongfeng said the latest version of its “strategic NEV platform” surpasses 230Wh/kg in energy density and 1,000km in range. Such performances have been verified in its road trials.
According to Dongfeng’s statement, the strategic NEV platform features an all-weather battery safety management mechanism that responds in milliseconds. Furthermore, it also offers a highly accurate state-of-charge estimation and a self-repair solution for removing lithium dendrites. Working in concert, the technologies and functions that are incorporated into the strategic NEV platform can extend the battery cycle life, enhance the human-machine interface, and significantly increase the accuracy of driving range calculation. Hence, drivers of Dongfeng’s NEVs will be less anxious about distance and charging time.
Furthermore, the strategic NEV platform has a highly durable frame made from a strong aluminum alloy. Therefore, it can achieve a first-order modality of more than 60Hz and withstand a compression force of more than 200kN without losing structural integrity. Such resistance is two times the domestic standard. Further optimization of the structural topology of the platform also enables battery packs to achieve a durability level that is three times higher than the domestic standard.
Looking at safety, the strategic NEV platform has a fire extinguishing solution can instantly suppress flames ignited by a thermal runaway incident. Specifically, the platform has its reserve of fire suppressor agent that can be distributed across an embedded tubing network. When the temperature of the platform is too high and indicates there is a fire, the tubes melt and release the special dual-phase fire suppressor agent so as to immediately extinguish the flames.
During laboratory tests, the strategic NEV platform was found to be able to continue operating despite experiencing thermal runway at multiple points. Its safety features instantly cool down the hot and malfunctioning battery cells while keeping the adjacent normal battery cells running. Thus, the entire power battery system did not break down, and the whole vehicle can still be safely driven.
This article is a translation of a Chinese article posted by TrendForce. It contains information that is either sourced from other news outlets or accessible in the public domain. Some Chinese names are transcribed into English using Hanyu Pinyin.
(Image: Dongfeng Motor)