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Yet Another Promise for a 621-Mi Battery, This Time It Will Come in 2024

Envision AESC wants you to believe in the future of electric vehicles (EV). The company is getting ready to deliver its first 621-mi (1,000 km) batteries to Nissan and other carmakers (mostly from China for now). This will happen in 2024. It might be a tad late.
Envision new 6 photos
Photo: Envision AESC
Battery cell abstractEnvision Battery PlantEnvision Battery ComponentEnvision Battery Plants Around The WorldNew Envision SSB Plant
Having a car that can go over 600 miles on a single charge might seem like a marketing gimmick at the moment. What’s that going to weigh in reality? Almost 7000 pounds (three and a half tons) or more? We don’t know anyone who would like a car that heavy. Imagine the braking power needed to stop it. It’s not feasible for any kind of long-term commercial use and, of course, not safe at all.

Envision’s solution for a 621-mi battery pack is nothing short of a disappointment. They aren’t planning on hurrying up solid-state batteries (SSB), and the company hasn’t found any new way of making EVs go longer. They just want to double the number of cells in a pack and reach that target of 621 miles (1,000 km). And they’ll do that in Japan, even though the company already has a plant in the U.S., located in Smyrna, Tennessee.

Being a Nissan supplier since the Leaf was launched, Envision has at least a plan for charging efficiency. According to Nikkei, they want to arrange the individual cells at a closer distance to each other inside the pack. By doing this, the storage efficiency would be improved, and charging time would drop by at least 30%. This, unfortunately, doesn’t solve the weight problem.

Envision is also getting ready to sell SSBs, but this will happen in 2030. We’ll see their first prototype in 2026 and the final product after another four years.

CEO Shoichi Matsumoto says he hopes to find other customers besides Nissan after his company will finish upgrading current plants and building others in Europe, Japan, and China.

If you’re a fan or just an informed citizen, then you might remember the GAC Aion LX Plus. That car was introduced with a 626-mi range, but that wasn’t the battery producer saying it. The Chinese manufacturer promised its car could travel so far on a single charge, a thing that might rapidly fall apart with EPA or WLTP testing.

For Envision AESC to succeed with its battery, it might be too late. CATL and LG Chem are already preparing to come with impressive news soon.
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Editor's note: Gallery shows photos of different types of battery packs for EVs.

About the author: Florin Amariei
Florin Amariei profile photo

Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one.
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