Click here to read full article in German newspaper “Focus”:

(Press release,  Moenchengladbach, 09.11.2020) – Advantages of round cells over prismatic cells as energy storage for the automotive industry

The future belongs to electric mobility. The EU is currently threatening to impose heavy fines as from this year if the CO2 fleet value is not met, even though German car manufacturers still have major problems with battery modules. There is now a solution which could be offered by a medium-sized German company who is working with efficient round cells, which are also being used by the American pioneer Tesla.

The energy turnaround is coming

Politicians and environmental activists have been advocating electromobility for years – but efficient technologies are needed for it to be realized in Germany. In the coming years, the degree of innovation in battery technologies will therefore determine whether and to what extent the production and use of electric vehicles can be implemented. Sales of hybrid vehicles alone have increased six-fold this year. At the same time, automobile manufacturers are reaching their limits in battery production. There are already the first reports that hybrid vehicles have been delivered whose batteries have ignited. In addition, from 2020, the new EU regulation regulating the EU-wide average CO2 emission target for the new car fleet of the individual car manufacturers will come into force. In order to reach the prescribed value of 95 g/km, European car manufacturers are on the alert and are trying to increase the proportion of electric vehicles in their fleets in order to make their car fleets CO2-neutral. The problem: Most manufacturers in Europe rely on prismatic battery cells for development. Round cells, on the other hand, are hardly used in European industry, although they clearly outperform prismatic battery cells in several key categories. If the fleet of new cars cannot be pushed below the CO2 limit, fines running into billions are imminent. German premium manufacturers in particular, with their high horsepower vehicles, are likely to face problems across their fleets if they continue to rely one-sidedly on what is basically a hopeless battery technology.

Round cells store energy better

The US-American car company Tesla is leading the way: It uses round cells in its electric vehicles. The German company E-Stream Energy GmbH & Co. KG has long since recognized the many advantages of round cells. They can achieve a superior efficiency of up to 94 percent – prismatic cells are usually only around 60 percent.

In terms of temperature management, safety, performance, flexibility, sustainability and cost, the round cells win in comparison. Thanks to their design, round cells save a lot of space and can simultaneously deliver more power than larger-volume prismatic cells. As a result, even smaller vehicles can achieve dynamic driving power. Their compact form leads to very good thermal properties, because space-saving thermal management solutions can be installed. E-Stream Energy uses all the advantages of round cells and has also developed an innovative battery storage packaging system.

Future-oriented battery storage technology for the automotive industry

E-Stream Energy has developed an innovative packaging system for round cells that is revolutionizing the energy storage market. Compared to its competitors, the system enables the highest energy density. A light and compact construction is used to connect the round cells together. This allows a higher energy density to be achieved, which creates more range for electric vehicles and better overall performance.

It should be emphasized that the battery storage systems from E-Stream Energy have a high-voltage capability of up to 1,000 volts and can therefore be charged faster than prismatic cells – from 20 to 80 percent charge level in under 15 minutes. The packaging system from E-Stream-Energy also offers almost unlimited flexibility with regard to electrical parameters such as capacity, energy, voltage and power. The simple design of E-Stream Energy’s battery storage modules allows for fast and industrialized production with high cost and efficiency benefits. A future-oriented energy storage technology for the future conversion to electric vehicles.