Ferrari’s first electric car shocked the public and critics, generating an enormous amount of often extreme comments. But there is a technical feature that very few people understand: the battery
Like the idea or not, one now exists Electric Ferrariis called Light and, as was widely predictable, many already hate it. Because an electric Ferrari is seen by them as an insult to the memory of Enzo Ferrari, because they believe that the iPhone designer designed it in the dark, because it doesn’t even remotely resemble the idea we all have of what a Ferrari should be, because a five-seater Ferrari sedan is perceived as meaningless. Ferrari Luce is so polarizingwhich you could find dozens of “whys” if you want to hate it. Likewise, there are dozens of reasons to love it, but it is certainly impossible to remain indifferent to this luxury electric sports car from Cavallino. There is a technical aspect of Ferrari Luce, however, that almost no one really manages to digest and, probably, not even fully understand: the technology chosen by Ferrari for the drums from 122 kWh.
THE FERRARI LUCE BATTERY
—
Ferrari Luce has a battery of 122 kWhof type “cell-to-module“, with pouch cells (pouch) produced by the Korean SK On with Ncm chemistry. To put it simply, this battery is made up of 15 extremely rigid containers, each of which contains 14 pouch-shaped cells connected to each other. Of the 15 modules, 13 are positioned in the floor and two under the rear seats of the car. The technical data of the cells are in theory excellent: energy density of 305 Wh/kg and a high discharge capacity. Ferrari declares that each cell is capable of delivering 1200 Amperes of peak electric current during the discharge phase, i.e. when the electric motors ask for energy. The battery architecture is 800 V, while the maximum charging power is 350 kW, so from the technical data sheet it is possible to recharge 70 kWh of battery in 20 minutes, with a complete charge in a theoretical time of approximately 40 minutes.
CELL-TO-MODULE
—
Among all the technical data just listed, those who know a little about electrification will have noticed two that “out of place” compared to the others. The first is configuration cell-to-modulenow abandoned by almost all electric car manufacturers and, above all, by those of high-performance electric cars. The two most recent trends, in fact, are the cell-to-pack and the cell-to-body. With the cell-to-pack the cells are incorporated directly into the battery pack, without being distributed in modules. With the cell-to-bodyInstead, the cells are directly inserted into the floor of the car, without first being mounted in a battery pack. Both choices significantly increase the rigidity of the carcompared to the solution cell-to-moduleallow you to use fewer components and, consequently, reduce the size and weight of the battery. All things that, in a 1,000 horsepower sports car, are worth like gold. Ferrari justified the choice of the cell-to-body configuration with the possibility, in the future, of replace the battery modules with new elements (in case of exhausted battery) or even with better performance. By using a battery with a higher discharge capacity, for example, it will be possible to obtain better performance, or performance that lasts for more laps if the car is taken on the track or in other contexts where maximum power is required for a prolonged time. We will only know if and when Ferrari Luce will have an updated and more performing battery pack in the coming years. In the meantime, however, Ferrari had to insert plates and fins between one module and another to keep the battery firm, compact and cool even when subjected to extreme stress, which is definitely not impossible given that Ferrari Luce will go at 310 per hour and reach 100 per hour in two and a half seconds but, at the same time, it will also have to be the first daily car of the brand. However, one thing needs to be asked: how much will it cost to change one or all of the Ferrari Luce battery modules?
the bag (pouch)
—
The second big (very big) doubt about the Ferrari Luce battery is related to the choice of cell format: non-cylindrical, non-blade, non-prismatic but per bag. This type of cell mainly has one great advantage: an excellent discharge capacity, confirmed by the technical data of Ferrari Luce. However, a battery pouch it is more fragile than the others, ages more quickly (especially with frequent high-power charging and discharging cycles) and, above all, heats up a lot when he is under stress. Ferrari has faced these challenges by armoring the pouch cells in highly reinforced modules and relying on what is most likely the best premium battery manufacturer, i.e. SK On. However, there is a big question that many are asking themselves after reading the technical data sheet of the Ferrari Luce battery: Why? Why choose pouch batteries when other technologies were available, theoretically more valid, with which the same performance could be obtained? Why do this even if the same supplier SK On also produces excellent cylindrical and prismatic cells? Why make a machine that dares in everything (according to some, even too much), and then choose a technology that others are gradually abandoning? There will certainly be answers to all these questions, some engineering or industrial reasons that pushed Ferrari to make these choices, but it will probably take us a while to discover them.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
