NanoFlowcell

nanoFlowcell
Private
Industry
Founded 2013
Founder Nunzio La Vecchia
Headquarters Kilchberg, Switzerland
Key people
  • Nunzio La Vecchia, CTO

Products
  • Flow Batteries
  • Electrolyte Liquids
  • Low-Voltage drive systems for electric vehicles
Services research and development
Parent nanoFlowcell Holdings Ltd
Website nanoflowcell.com

nanoFlowcell is a Swiss-based research and development company active in the field of flow cell battery technology. The company has registered offices in Kilchberg, Switzerland [1] and London, United Kingdom.[2]

The company was the first to develop a mobile flow battery small enough to be used in electric cars. Their flow battery, branded nanoFlowcell, was first presented in electric prototype vehicles Quant E,[3] Quant F[4] and Quantino.[5] Similar to regular redox flow batteries, the nanoFlowcell battery uses electrolyte fluids to generate electricity from chemical compounds. Unlike the electrolytes in vanadium flow batteries or polysulfide bromide flow batteries, the electrolyte used in the nanoFlowcell is said to be non-toxic and environmentally compatible. While the company is not releasing its electrolyte formula prior to its first sales, their publications state that the electrolyte used in the nanoFlowcell battery has an energy density of 600 Wh per litre, which is ten times the energy density of regular redox flow cells.[6] Production costs for this "non-flammable and non-explosive" electrolyte are said to be below 10 cents per litre.[7]

While European research institutes and experts question the adequacy of flow cell designs for use in electric cars,[8] scientists at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in the USA recently claimed to have developed an equally powerful flow cell designed for use in electric vehicles.[9]

QUANT Prototypes

QUANT FE premiers at Geneva International Motor Show 2016
Overview
Manufacturer nanoFlowcell
Production 2016
Body and chassis
Class Electric car

Under the name QUANT (derived from quantum mechanics), nanoFlowcell Holdings is developing applications for its nanoFlowcell battery technology, mainly electric vehicles such as the QUANT E, QUANT FE and Quantino. The Quantino is the latest electric prototype vehicle produced by nanoFlowcell engineers for their battery testing purposes. The road-legal version of the Quantino was first introduced at the Geneva International Motor Show in 2016, together with its more powerful sibling QUANT FE.[10][11]

The Quantino and QUANT FE prototype vehicles have been used for non-public technology presentations towards the automobile industry in 2016 to further demonstrate the use and advantages of flow cell technology in electric cars. Several journalists who drove Quantino and QUANT FE in public testings confirmed functionality of the nanoFlowcell's flow cell technology.[12][13][14]

bi-ION Electrolyte

Similar to regular modern flow cells, nanoFlowcell is producing electricity from liquids. However, the electrolyte is not common salt water as commonly stated in several internet forums, but the electrolyte solution bi-ION consists of a conductive liquid - organic and inorganic salts dissolved in water - and the electrolytes themselves, nano-particles which are specific molecules designed by nanoFlowcell Holdings Ltd. While dissolved redox salts are responsible for the energy transfer in conventional redox flow batteries, the bi-ION electrolyte is an energy storage medium whose suspended nano-particles permit a considerably higher energy density than regular redox electrolyte liquids.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "nanoFlowcell IP AG". moneyhouse.ch. Moneyhouse AG. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  2. ↑ "nanoFlowcell Holdings Ltd". Companies House. Registrar of Companies (England and Wales). Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  3. ↑ "The sports car that runs on SALTWATER: Vehicle goes from 0 to 60mph in 2.8 seconds - and has just been approved for EU roads". Daily Mail. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "This is a 1075bhp, 186mph electric car". Top Gear. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "nanoFlowcell Quantino Electric Sportscar". Gt spirit. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "BI-ION - ENERGY CARRIER FOR THE ELECTRICITY OF TOMORROW". nanoflowcell.com. nanoFlowcell Holdings Ltd. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  7. ↑ "NanoFlowcell Want To Revolutionize The EV Market With The Quant 48Volt". carbuzz.com. CarBuzz Inc. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  8. ↑ Clemens Gleich (2015-03-11). "Fantastische Literatur aus Genf: der Quant-Supersportler". Heise Autos. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  9. ↑ "Illinois researchers seek a battery you can pump into your car’s tank". MIDWEST ENERGY NEWS. Midwest Energy News. Published by RE-AMP. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  10. ↑ "Geneva 2016: Nanoflowcell Quantino". gtspirit.com. GTspirit Limited. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  11. ↑ "Quantino and Quant FE as near-production models". plugin-magazine.com. AM Ljubljana. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Revolutionary Flowcell EV could make production". autocar.co.uk. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "Review: the nanoFlowcell-powered Quantino prototype". topgear.com. BBC Worldwide. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  14. ↑ "Emissionsfreie Reichweite zum Nachtanken". auto-motor-und-sport.de. auto motor und sport. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  15. ↑ http://emagazine.nanoflowcell.com/technology/bi-ion-energy-of-the-future/
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