Stellantis (Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Opel, Jeep, etc.) has been seduced by the promises of Lyten, a young company working on a very promising new generation of battery for electric cars. The objective: to drastically increase their autonomy while reducing their carbon footprint.
Peugeot e-308 SW
The Stellantis group (Peugeot, Fiat, Opel, Jeep, etc.) has just announced via a press release that it has invested in Lyten, a company specializing in lithium-sulfur battery development. The financial operation was carried out by Stellantis Venture, the venture capital fund dedicated to investing in cutting-edge start-ups on technological issues. The amount was not specified.
Founded in 2015, Lyten is based in UNITED STATES, in San Jose. The young shoot is considered a specialist in three-dimensional graphene. Mastery of this material allows it to make significant advances in the field of so-called lithium-sulfur batteries, a technology that has many advantages on paper.
Lithium-sulfur as a solution to improve battery density
For the motorist, lithium-sulfur will first be synonymous with increased autonomy. The battery that Lyten is working on would have an energy density twice that of the batteries found in current electric cars. In other words, the autonomy could double.
This gain in efficiency would also make it possible to lighten the battery, and therefore the total mass of the vehicle, which is particularly high on electric models.
Remember, however, that the lithium-sulfur battery is not the only technology capable of significantly improving the density. The so-called solid state battery, which we had the opportunity to tell you about earlier, also seems quite promising on this point.
A Solid Power battery cell // Source: Solid Power
Less polluting batteries
Another advantage of the lithium-sulfur battery: a lower carbon footprint. On this type of accumulator, the cathode doesn’t use nickel, cobalt, or manganese. The disappearance of these materials would lead to a considerable reduction in the carbon footprint. Stellantis and its new partner speak of a reduction of 60% compared to a lithium-ion battery, and 40% compared to a solid battery. In addition, lighter vehicles will also improve the overall carbon footprint.
The absence of nickel, cobalt and manganese should also make it possible to reduce the price of an electric car, because these rare metals are also expensive. Less expensive because it is more abundant, sulfur would also be an interesting way to deal with the problem of supply.
Mine de lithium
When on our cars?
On paper, the technology in which Stellantis invests has everything to please, but for the time being it is only a question of promises that are still rather vague. No deadline has been communicated by the French industrialist, who has other projects to carry out before considering the marketing of electric cars with lithium-sulfur batteries.
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