Microvast announces fast-charging utility vehicle battery

Microvast has introduced another fast-charging pouch cell. Following on from the MpCO-17.5Ah presented in October is the HnCO-52Ah with an energy density of 265 Wh/kg, which Microvast says is particularly suitable for use in light and medium-duty commercial vehicles.

The new NMC pouch cell is expected to be available on the European market from the first quarter of 2021. Like the MpCO-17.5Ah unveiled two months ago, it can be integrated into the standardised VDA module that Microvast Europe will assemble at its new plant in Brandenburg, Germany. According to the developer, the HnCO-52Ah’s fast-charge function allows the cell to be 80 per cent charged within 30 minutes. Microvast puts the service life at 2,500 full cycles. Operable, the cell is said to be capable of operating between -20 and 55 degrees Celsius.

Microvast sees the energy density of 265 Wh/kg as a decisive competitive advantage over current cells for the commercial vehicle sector. These have an average energy density of around 240 Wh/kg, the company says in a press release sent to us by e-mail. In addition, the HnCO-52Ah cell, with its 2,500 full cycles, achieves an optimal TCO over the lifetime of light- and medium-duty commercial vehicles, it adds.

The features of the new pouch cell differ significantly from the MpCO-17.5Ah introduced two months ago. It has three times the electrical charge (17.5 instead of 52 Ah) and a much more moderate energy density (186 instead of 265 Wh/kg). On the other hand, it is said to have a service life of 8,000 cycles, which is more than three times longer than the HnCO-52Ah.

NMC’s new MpCO 17.5Ah pouch cell offers an energy density of 186 Wh/kg and a lifetime of 8,000 cycles, according to a company statement. Microvast says it can integrate the new cells into its standard battery modules and battery packs, which will be assembled at its new plant in Ludwigsfelde, Germany.

Microvast Inc, founded in Texas in 2006, has its EMEA headquarters in Germany with Microvast GmbH. The company celebrated the topping-out ceremony for battery production in Ludwigsfelde, where its European headquarters are also to be relocated, in July 2020. Assembly of battery modules and packs is scheduled to start there in March 2021.

Press release via email, azom.com