Nissan unveils revolutionary car battery charging tech and new, highly formable ultra high tensile strength steel

Nissan unveils revolutionary car battery charging tech and new, highly formable ultra high tensile strength steel

Nissan has unveiled a couple of innovations, and the first is the development of a new technology that can fully charge an electric vehicle battery in about 10 minutes.

According to a report, researchers at Japan’s Kansai University, working together with Nissan boffins, have come up with tech to speed up the charging process. Currently, lithium-ion batteries can take up to eight hours to recharge fully.

In experiments, the researchers tweaked a capacitor – by using a composite made from tungsten oxide and vanadium oxide for the capacitor’s electrode instead of the usual carbon – to allow it to hold more power. Tests with the new capacitor resulted in it being able to fully recharge within 10 minutes, while maintaining nearly the same storage capacity and voltage as lithium-ion batteries, the report says.

Apparently, the new capacitor has endured repeated charging and discharging without durabiility issues, and the researchers are now planning to go further afield, utilising different materials and structures for the device, with the aim of bringing down the charge time to three minutes or less.

The report adds that it is likely to take about a decade to commercialise the technology, but the breakthrough is expected to help cut production costs for electric cars and make them more popular for drivers in a hurry.

The second one involves steel, in this case what has been tagged as the world’s first ultra high tensile strength steel to be rated at 1.2 gigapascals (GPa), which Nissan has developed in collaboration with Nippon Steel Corporation and Kobe Steel.

What’s unique about this one isn’t just its stiffness, but also its formability. Until now, high tensile strength steel involved a critical trade-off – increased strength came with increased rigidity, and with that, a consequent reduction in press formability, not to mention the challenges in spot-welding the stuff. Traditionally, only high tensile steel – rated up to 980 megapascals (MPa) – has been used in cold pressing structural body parts, requiring complex press work.

The new material changes the scene. Highly formable, it will be produced from 2013 as steel plates for use in cold pressing structural body parts, and used for centre pillar reinforcements, front and side roof rails and other key structural components.

Development of the new material was realised by a breakthrough in the ability to control its structural formation at the sub-micron level, combining hard and soft layers to achieve both strength and formability. An optimal spot-welding methodology – a proprietary process which involves careful optimisation of welding pressure, current volume and power distribution – was also developed for use with it.

The steel offers the benefit of exceeding the structural body performance of previous materials, with less thickness needed. As such, it will offer weight savings, with Nissan claiming its use will reduce vehicle body weight by up to 15 kg.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.

Certified Pre-Owned - 1 Year Warranty

10% discount when you renew your car insurance

Compare prices between different insurer providers and use the promo code 'PAULTAN10' when you make your payment to save the most on your car insurance renewal compared to other competing services.

Car Insurance

Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • Excellent news.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Alvin on Oct 06, 2011 at 8:27 pm

    Ironman technology ?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Impressive!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • RedBeanBun on Oct 06, 2011 at 9:02 pm

    now, this is call R&D.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • kington on Oct 06, 2011 at 9:39 pm

    Good job Nissan. I hope this would path the way for more cars less dependent on fuel and a whole lot safer.

    What about Pedestrian safety?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Do you know that Proton Savvy, Proton Exora and New Proton Saga use high tensile steel?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • squawk on Oct 07, 2011 at 12:37 am

    Good stuff. If practical, this quick charging could help change the landscape of hybrids and EVs.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • rosman on Oct 07, 2011 at 1:39 am

    Proton should put their money into these areas and not
    Rally and F1 cos at the end of the day they gain NOTHING.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • taboogen on Oct 07, 2011 at 7:42 am

      malaysian do that also malaysian sendiri not appreciating it…. make own engine bash all the way to the grave…… TYPICAL malaysian mindset… its like when u have wife you tell all the back things about her to your friend or worst to the world… “she’s a SLUT”
      WTH

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • scgtimk1 on Oct 07, 2011 at 8:42 am

      Rally and F1 is for Marketing and increase brand awareness especially to younger crowd.

      No point in putting R&D effort but no where to sell coz nobody know proton.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Johndeep on Oct 07, 2011 at 8:52 am

      Almost every car manufacturer involve in motorsports, similarly to adidas, nike, puma, etc involvement in other sports arena for their sportwear business. How do you know they gain nothing from those involvements? …unless you are the one who conduct their annual business review.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • MoFaz on Oct 07, 2011 at 9:39 am

      look, Nissan do R&D collaborations with universities and many other companies related to its business. read the report again, see how long does it take to be ready for production? 10 years! and how long have they involved in the R&D of the said battery?
      Here, people bash Proton immediately whenever Proton announce MoU or collaboration with any other party. Do you really think you could sign MoU today and get the result tommorow?
      involvement in motorsports is also part of R&D. they put the car to the extreme real-life test in rally. Cusco won’t know Satria Neo if not for Proton involvement in rally. Look at the latest APRC result, even Subaru WRX and Mitsu Lancer are smoked by Neo!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • michael on Oct 07, 2011 at 11:08 am

      they gain the free overseas trip mah

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Proof that big companies with billion of dollars that are doing all sort of RnD nowadays. The bigger money being spent out the better RnD they get.

    Billions of USD. Not ringgit.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Jerry on Oct 07, 2011 at 9:42 am

    If Nissan could only bring about a full li-on battery charge at 10-min ten years on, it might be a little too late for the marque. There are rumors others are bringing 10-min charge to the marketplace in a couple of years’ time. And remember too hydrogen tech is progressing as we speak.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • err... on Oct 07, 2011 at 12:00 pm

      do you read the article or you just read the comments?trying to act smart….

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • wow!!. 10 minutes is super fast laa~
    get it into production oredy…
    my 1st car is gonna be electric.

    -“dont be oil addict, oil is gonna deplete”-

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • blue-traveler on Oct 07, 2011 at 3:07 pm

    For more fun to this topic, watch the newly posted podcast by engadget on their test drive of Tesla Model S. It is way cool, watched it last night.
    Just for us folks here, can anyone from paultan.org get an invite to test it out too for us. even though in the podcast they did mention that no outsider are allow to drive it yet, but to get driven it one is still fun. 300 miles per charge; claim. 2012 production/deliver. but….@US$49,000.00. Guess we’r not getting it here.
    Test drive for us please, members of paultan.org.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • tikus on Oct 07, 2011 at 5:39 pm

    Real Steal !!!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • The Unicons on Oct 07, 2011 at 6:15 pm

    So what is the rate for the high tensile steel use by Proton??

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • My Proton Savvy’ body is 100% high tensile steel, that is why when one camry hit my back, there was not a dent, but that camry had one, and when I accidently hit one continental car, again my car not a dent but that other car had one. I think Proton Exora is 100% too.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Musalmah Endut on Oct 08, 2011 at 10:48 am

    There was an episode in Top Gear where it highlights the difficulties of charging Nissan Leaf where Clarkson stranded in Lincoln while waiting the battery to recharge. I would like to watch this episode again but with this new super fast charging battery!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Ash Menon on Oct 09, 2011 at 7:01 am

    I guess Nissan sees the new electric wave as a way to cast aside Toyota and Honda and take its place as the Japanese No.1. I wouldn’t mind that, really, they make okay cars.

    This reminds me of an article a while back, also featured here on PT, about knitting robot grannies used to optimize moldability and strength of the body structure.

    Ahh, here it is: http://paultan.org/2010/11/22/smart-454-wwt-built-by-granny-robots/

    It’s fascinating the kind of innovations we’re coming up with to overcome limitations in the industry. Fantastic stuff, Nissan.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • man says:
    7/10/2011 at 10:48 pm
    My Proton Savvy’ body is 100% high tensile steel, that is why when one camry hit my back, there was not a dent, but that camry had one, and when I accidently hit one continental car, again my car not a dent but that other car had one. I think Proton Exora is 100% too.
    ********************************************************************************************
    Man,
    Use your correct head b4 u post any comments.
    Nissan has come up with a new steel technology which is stronger and lighter.
    Similar to BMW’s Novelis Fusion(TM) aka “The new aluminium(TM).”
    You are instead talking about an amoured car over a ton and with an underpowered
    Campro engine which guzzles due to its massive weight!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
    • You said under power how many times I told you Gen2 top speed 200km/h surpass all standard Japanese car Campro the same standard with all Continental car likw VW BMW Mercedes etc. Remember this for the rest of your life.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Actually I read before posting any comments and I read that Savvy and Exora are made of high tensile steel. Remember the advertisement that the savvy was thrown around by a giant?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
 

Add a comment

required

required