Johnson Controls Unviels Next Generation Lithium Ion Battery - ie:3

Cutaway of the new pack in the ie:3 demonstrator. Click to enlarge.

Johnson Controls unveiled its next-generation Li-ion battery cell and pack, applied in the new ie:3 (“inspired efficiency”) battery-electric demonstrator vehicle (BEV) at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The Johnson Controls Saft hard-case prismatic 30 Ah cell (the 30M) uses NMC cathode materials—a mixed oxide material containing nickel, manganese and cobalt—and is targeted for battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. For application in the ie:3, Johnson Controls paired the cells in parallel, for a 60Ah unit.

For the ie:3 demonstrator, Johnson Controls designed a 23.7 kWh pack comprising 216 cells that fits completely under the floor. The new prismatic format (which still needs to be finalized, according to Johnson Controls) achieves greater packaging efficiency and uses less space.

The cooling loop is isolated from the pack compartment itself, and utilizes a baseplate that can be thermally managed according to automakers’s desires—i.e., using air or liquid.

Johnson Controls envisages the ie:3 small car as having a 100-mile (161 km) electric range enabled by that size pack, equipped with the NMC cells.

Packaged differently, Johnson Controls noted, the new cell will also be effective in a plug-in hybrid application.

Source: Green Car Congress