When it comes to sports cars, small and light is the ideal. Heavy battery packs make this difficult to achieve with EVs, but UK-based Nyobolt claims to have the solution.
Nyobolt developed battery technology that enables ultra-fast charging, which the startup believes will eliminate the need for large batteries. If drivers can charge fast enough, they could get by with smaller batteries, the thinking goes.
To prove its point, Nyobolt has commissioned a prototype electric sports car from Calumthe design company founded by Former Jaguar Chief Design Officer Ian Callum. Nyobolt says the prototype’s 35 kWh battery is compact enough to allow for a weight of 2,750 pounds, which is 100 pounds down from the original Tesla Roadster based on the Lotus Elise.
![Nyobolt electric sports car prototype Nyobolt electric sports car prototype](https://thegurumedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/nyobolt-electric-sports-car-prototype_100934682_l.jpg)
Nyobolt electric sports car prototype
Nyobolt previewed its electric sports car and charging technology last year, but now it’s hitting the streets. The startup says this prototype will “advance real-world testing of the technology, allowing OEMs to experience Nyobolt’s ultra-fast charging technology firsthand.”
A claimed 10%-80% charge time of less than five minutes means the Nyobolt pack is charging at around 350 kW a significant portion of the time. Nyobolt says the first four minutes of the pack’s charging session — at a CCS connector — are maxed out at a constant 500 amps, adding 120 miles of WLTP range (equivalent to around 100 miles on the EPA test cycle) in that time.
High-power charging rates typically raise concerns about battery cell degradation, but Nyobolt claims to address this with niobium oxide anode materials in its low-impedance lithium-ion cells. It says the 24.5 Ah cells have completed fast-charge cycles equivalent to more than 600,000 miles of use.
![Nyobolt electric sports car prototype Nyobolt electric sports car prototype](https://thegurumedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/nyobolt-electric-sports-car-prototype_100934673_l.jpg)
Nyobolt electric sports car prototype
In this application, a battery cooling circuit incorporates a cooler and an AC compressor/condenser, maintaining the battery temperature at a maximum of 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
Nyobolt says its battery cells could enter low-volume production within a year, enabling 1,000 packs by 2025. The startup also claims to be in talks with eight different automakers about using its technology in high-performance electric vehicles.