Company That Developed Exploding Batteries for Phones Reveals Powerful New Energy Cell for Electric Cars

Earlier this week, Samsung’s SDI battery subsidiary announced a new cell designed for use in electric vehicles that will supposedly improve maximum range and possess a cutting-edge quick charge capacity.

Exhibited for the first time at the North American International Auto Show, the battery comes hot on the heels of Tesla and Panasonic’s own ultra-dense “2170 Cell” planned for use on the Model 3.

While Samsung didn’t elaborate on a specific testing platform, it claims the new battery should permit a range of 372 miles on a single charge, with an 80 percent restoration after a 20 minutes quick charge.

Korea’s tech giant also showcased an “integrated battery module” concept that, interestingly enough, makes use of the same cylindrical 21mm by 70mm format used by Tesla. This unverified tech is claimed to yield a 10-percent decrease in the number of units required, saving weight and offering better overall efficiency.

While Tesla makes its power cells in-house, Samsung plans to sell its new technology to “U.S. automobile startups,” meaning Lucid Motors and Faraday Future.

Still, the partially conceptual nature of the power application and the far-off mass production date of 2021 brings up a lot of questions regarding how convenient electric cars will be throughout this next generation.

Car companies have only recently started promising the swift normalization of electric vehicles on a global scale. In this year’s KPMG Global Automotive Executive Survey, 90 percent of car industry executives surveyed in the United Kingdom expected battery electric vehicles to dominate the automotive marketplace by 2025. With this battery technology potentially not rolling out until 2021, is it realistic to assume BEVs will be the new norm within the next decade? Doubtful.

However, assuming Samsung delivers, a shorter charging time and nearly 400 mile range could make battery-powered vehicles as convenient as their ICE counterparts. And, considering that you can plug your EV in at home, the biggest advantages of all-electric ownership are no longer mired by limited range and lengthy recharge times.