Automotive designer Henrik Fisker has this week revealed a new electric vehicle which could revolutionize the way these EVs store energy.
Called the EMotion, the electric vehicle is designed as a direct competitor to Tesla’s highly-successful Model S.
While similar in terms of looks, the car, which is built by a new company founded by Fisker called Fisker Inc, makes use of a key advance in battery tech to differentiate itself.
Unlike Tesla’s Model S, which uses an array of Lithium-ion batteries, the Fisker EMotion instead is the first vehicle to use a graphene supercapacitor to store electrical energy.
This new technology provides significant boosts for the car, both in terms of top speed as well as total range.
But where it really shines is in charging time – while a Tesla Model S can charge itself close to full in approximately 30min using a ‘Supercharger’ station, the Fisker claims the EMotion can do much better and completely charge its batteries in just 9 minutes.
Given that so-called ‘range anxiety’ and slow charging times are some of the main factors hold back the adoption of electric vehicles, if the eMotion can really deliver on the manufacturer’s claims, it would be revolutionary for the industry.
“We’re teaming to create a new paradigm of what’s possible in the application of battery technology within the automotive sector,” said Jack Kavanaugh, chairman of Fisker Nanotech.
“Our marriage of expertise and vision will deliver significant battery improvements in areas of density, longevity and speed of charging, contributing to reductions in overall cost.”
Beyond the high-tech battery, Fisker also claims their new vehicle will also be able to compete with Tesla in other areas such as autonomous driving and a connected media experience.
Is a mass market vehicle really coming?
Of course, Fisker Inc. is yet to manufacturer any mass-production vehicles and prove that they can really deliver on their promises. So far only it appears to be only in the developmental stage for their vehicle.
As well, in order to take on a company like Tesla, which boasts massive brand recognition, as well as other large players with decades of experience manufacturing automobiles, Fisker will need to have very good luck indeed.
All of this makes it much more likely that Fisker’s battery technology could be bought out or licensed by a larger company which would then incorporate it into its vehicles.
