EV battery project needs a charge

This story first appeared in the October issue of EvTalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE

Crowdfunding is sought to help a trial project aiming to upgrade the battery packs of older EVs.

Auckland company Blue Cars has been swapping and servicing EV batteries since 2016.

In 2017 they launched a pilot project to trial the possibility of upgrading older battery packs here in New Zealand.

With co-funding from the Government’s low emission vehicles contestable fund administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), the company was able to design, build and test a prototype replacement battery module for a Nissan Leaf.

“Our prototype module achieved 45% greater capacity than original Leaf modules and gave us the confidence to keep working towards a full upgrade solution,” Blue Cars founder and managing director Carl Barlev says.

The small start-up company was unsuccessful in seeking further funding support but claims it has been able to keep the project moving at a slower pace by directing revenue from core activities selling and servicing EVs.

According to a new project page on the company’s website, Blue Cars finished building its first full upgrade prototype in July 2019.

The prototype fits 38kWh of new battery modules into an existing Leaf battery pack, giving 58% more capacity than original Leaf packs.

“We still have some technical issues to solve, but initial run-out tests have been promising with our test car achieving nearly 200km despite winter conditions and mostly highway driving,” Barlev says.

“We believe we can increase this to 230km or more with some tweaking of the design and fine-tune balancing of the new battery modules.We’re certainly pretty excited by results so far.”

Upgrade cost

“With no battery upgrade options presently available in New Zealand, our project represents the first real possibility of an affordable battery upgrade solution for local EV owners,” Barlev says.

Replacement packs offered by Nissan in Australia at prices ranging from A$30,000-A$53,000 make the solution developed by Blue Cars seem like a much more reasonable option.

“Our upgrade solution has a target price around NZ$20,000 and that’s for 50% more capacity than Nissan’s like-for-like replacement offer,” Barlev adds.

“At this price level we already have people interested in participating in the trial project we’re hoping to launch early next year.”

Fundraising campaign

Meanwhile, the company has received broad interest from EV owners around the country and the world.

The Givealittle fundraising page was launched to give existing Leaf owners and others a chance to help support the project.

“Money raised will help fund the trial, including testing dashboard integration solutions, endurance testing and proving of the full battery upgrade solution,” Barlev says.

“We’ve set our fundraising target to match the level of co-funding we will need to contribute if our latest funding application is successful.”

The fundraising campaign raised just over $4500 from around 40 donors in the first fortnight, with the average donation much higher than the company was expecting.

Maori broadcaster Thomas Curtis even offered a donation on air.

“With about 8000 used Nissan Leafs in New Zealand, we were hoping to get more support from these car owners in particular,” Barlev says.

“If a quarter of these Leaf owners give even just $20 each we’ll get to our target and hopefully also one step closer to co-funding from EECA in December.

“This is also helping train people to support the industry.”

Trial project

Leaf owners keen to join the trial need to include details about their vehicle and will have to allow data to be collected from the updated battery pack, while also willing to deposit $3000 towards the target upgrade price of $20,000 (including GST).

“While expensive compared to an older Leaf with 100km range, our potential customers are those who see the value compared to a newer EV with similar range and costing $60,000 or more,” Barlev explains.

Blue Cars is considering battery upgrades for second-hand Nissan eNV200 vans next year and is likely to study options for other EVs in the future.

Barlev says he founded Blue Cars to support EV uptake in New Zealand.

The company launched NZ’s first rental EVs in 2015 before opening the country’s first specialist EV workshop.

Barlev is also a founding trustee of the Better NZ Trust.

Email pilot@bluecars.nz for more information.