UBCO will use cobalt-free battery

Kiwi electric adventure vehicle start-up UBCO has partnered with artificial intelligence (AI) powered battery developer Chemix to commercialise sustainable, ultra-safe, and high-energy cobalt-free lithium-ion battery technology.

With rapid EV adoption around the world, the future of sustainable vehicles has been reliant on lithium-ion and cobalt batteries which use non-renewable resources such as rare earth minerals for their creation.

This first-to-market cobalt-free (Co-free) cylindrical cell will replace UBCO’s existing reliance on alternative nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) and nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA) chemistries, without compromising the experience of UBCO’s products, the Tauranga-based company says.

Cobalt has been a key ingredient in stabilisng high-energy battery chemistries but the rare-earth mineral is primarily mined adjacent to regions of the world that are considered conflict areas.

The demand for this toxic ingredient has resulted in eutrophication, increased GHG emissions, and unethical mining practices, says UBCO.

Existing Co-free battery chemistries, such as those based on iron,  do not have sufficient energy density for high-performance, long-range vehicles, it adds.

In joint partnership, UBCO and Chemix have cracked the code to create the first, high-energy-density Co-free cylindrical battery, adding to UBCO’s sustainable EAV experience.

“We at UBCO believe there’s a lot that can be done in making sustainable transportation even more of a no-brainer, especially as it pertains to climate change,” says its chief product officer Colin Godby.

“Our partnership with Chemix is a critical step for our company to apply advanced battery technology in a pragmatic way. We are delivering positive impact quickly and this partnership will help to provide a solution to three huge challenges in the industry by increasing battery energy density, reducing likelihood of thermal runaway, and enabling a cleaner supply chain.

“For UBCO, it’s really exciting to think that our customers’ riding adventures will be powered by an environmental footprint that’s smaller than ever before.”

Chemix co-founder and chief executive Dr Kaixiang Lin says it is using AI to develop battery chemistries similar to how AI has been applied to speed up drug development

“We have developed a powerful AI process that automatically screens and suggests new materials for testing, that dramatically accelerates the process of developing new battery designs. You can think of this as battery R&D on autopilot.”

It also provides UBCO increased control and transparency over the battery development process and the resulting battery performance, which enables UBCO to dictate battery requirements they need to design the optimal vehicle, instead of designing their vehicle around what’s available from off-the-shelf battery solutions.

Research and development based on high-energy 18650 and 21700 format cells has already started. The initial focus will be on designing first-to-market, high-energy Co-free cylindrical cells for UBCO’s upcoming premium performance trail models.

This technology will be rapidly scalable to quickly meet the large demand from UBCO’s foundational 2X2 and planned 4X4 models.

Both parties also look forward to extending the partnership to exploration of battery re-purposing, as well as battery pack health management, to leverage the full capability of Chemix’s data-centric approach.

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