The battery capacity will likely increase around 10 kWh from the current 42,2 kWh to 52 kWh. Next year Samsung SDI will bring its own NCM 811 battery cells and the BMW i3 will probably be the first electric car to get them.Hyundai could upgrade their battery cells to NCM 712 already this year, or wait until 2022 to get the NCMA cells from LG Chem instead.Nissan has the chance to upgrade the LEAF with more energy dense battery cells and finally give it an active TMS (Temperature Management System) to properly handle fast charging and prevent excessive capacity degradation.
Envision AESC that supplies battery cells to Nissan will upgrade its cells from NCM 523 to NCM 811 during this year.Explaining why the energy density of the battery pack only increased from 143 to 158 Wh/kg, while in the Renault ZOE, the upgrade to NCM 712 battery cells resulted in an energy density increase from 145 to 168 Wh/kg. This “cold weather battery pack” means better insulation and heating of the battery but is likely to result in extra weight. The 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV now has the “cold weather battery pack” that according to GM allows 150 % faster DC charging in cold weather. Regarding the new 2020 generation, it is likely that there was a change to NCM 712 battery cells and although the increase in energy density seems minimal, there is an explanation. The battery capacity advertised by Chevrolet is neither total nor usable, is something in between…
