ElringKlinger develops batteries for Piëch GT sports EV

ElringKlinger has announced it secured a contract with Piëch Engineering to supply battery prototypes for the all-electric high-end sports car GT planned by the Swiss-German manufacturer. The deal is worth a few million euros with ElringKlinger going to work as you read.

More precisely, the project will initially cover a volume in the mid-single-digit million euro range, according to ElringKlinger. Development also includes the battery management system. The supplier intends to get to work before the year’s end.

Piëch Automotive is an electric car start-up founded in 2017 with headquarters in Zurich and a development centre in Memmingen, Germany, under the direction of Piëch Engineering GmbH, which is now acting as the client. The company’s market entry is to be the GT, a sports car based on the Mark Zero study and scheduled for launch in mid-2024 as the first in a product family of three. In October, Piëch made it public that he had begun testing the GT.

ElringKlinger, in today’s announcement, follows Piëch’s battery concept previously announced. The developer will use non-liquid cooled pouch cells. The supplier now specified there will be a pack of over 400 such cells, which, in combination with the control unit, forms the core element of the system. One of the technical highlights is switching the voltage from 800 V to 400 V. The 800 V technology then provides fast-charging while driving operations happen on the 400 V basis, explains ElringKlinger. The supplier also claims a range of 500 km at more than 70 kWh and achieves high charging rates by reaching 80% battery capacity in under five minutes.

These values largely match earlier announcements made by Piëch.

“The contract illustrates that ElringKlinger’s innovatory and performance capabilities in the field of battery technology have become a compelling proposition. After all, Piëch places the highest demands on the fully electric drive of its vehicles, which we are able to meet with our battery solutions,” said Theo Becker, Chief Technology Officer at ElringKlinger AG. He added the first stages of the project were now being implemented at the company’s “Center of Excellence in Neuffen”.

ElringKlinger says it has been developing and producing components for lithium-ion batteries in the automotive sector for a good ten years – including battery systems and modules and cell contacting systems, module connectors, cell covers, and sealing and pressure equalization systems. The company, based in Dettingen, Baden-Württemberg, is also one of the funding recipients for battery projects within the second Battery IPCEI.

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