Boston-Power, Inc., the rapidly growing provider of next-generation lithium-ion battery cells, modules and systems, today announced its new Swing Key™ blocks. The company is showcasing the new products this week at AABC Europe in Germany, June 6-10, in Booth #39.
The highly configurable Swing Key block is a series of interconnected Swing cells in a robust mechanical enclosure that brings to electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers for the first time an advanced battery solution that combines the safety and performance advantage of Boston-Power’s Swing cells with the capacity and ease of implementation of traditional large format cells. As the foundation for Boston-Power’s Swing® Rechargeable Energy Storage Systems (Swing RESS™), the new products deliver these advantages while capitalizing on the company’s industry-best capabilities in energy density, cycle and calendar life, operating temperature range, safety and environmental sustainability.
The Swing Key blocks are already deployed in EV models today, including the Saab 9-3 ePower. More manufacturers are expected to announce and deploy the new offering later this year and in 2012.
According to Pike Research, the market for EVs is expected to grow to nearly $8 billion by 2015. Rising gas prices, increased oil dependence in the U.S. and abroad, and a growing desire for zero-emission vehicles are driving consumer change and buying behaviors.
“The question is no longer if the world will adopt electric vehicles – it’s now how can vehicle manufacturers safely and cost-effectively provide EVs that meet key customer requirements such as driving range, vehicle performance and battery life,” said Boston-Power Vice President of Marketing Sally Bament. “We’ve designed our new Swing Key block to help vehicle OEMs address these demands while enabling rapid development and scale of commercially viable EVs.”
The Swing Key blocks are designed to enable the rapid delivery of Boston-Power’s Swing RESS EV battery systems, delivering a range of industry-best capabilities:
- Industry-leading system performance: >50% more usable energy density by volume and >45% more by weight; 10 year reliable calendar life; and, wide operating temperature range down to -40˚C (discharge);
- Unparalleled system safety: enabled by multiple safety features in the Swing cells combined with the mechanically robust design of the Swing Key blocks;
- Cost-effective thermal management through integrated air cooling channels;
- Ease of assembly with minimal hardware requirements to build into systems; and,
- Common hardware building blocks that allow easy integration and are compatible with next-generation cell capacity.
The first two blocks in the family are the Swing Key 430 and Swing Key 435. Swing Key 430 (3.7V, 30Ah) samples will be available in August. Swing Key 435 (3.7V, 35Ah) samples will be available in the fall. Pricing is set to be competitive with today’s prismatic cells (cost per kWh) dependent on volume and configuration.
