The Problem
With an on-road fleet of nearly 280 million vehicles in the U.S. alone and tens of millions of used car sales annually, the high cost of recent model vehicles is a factor keeping carbon inefficient vehicles on the road. Additionally, wage earners spend disproportionate percentages of their income on vehicles, too often taking on long-term debt exceeding vehicle reliability and unable to afford advanced vehicle technology .
Electric motors and electronics are low cost and ultimately can make EVs affordable for nearly all people, but for the following three remaining barriers: (1) high cost of EV batteries; (2) slow recharging which requires excess carried battery weight/cost; and (3) limited battery life which increases lifecycle cost and reduces residual value.
The Goal
Advanced mobility along with environmental and safety gains, with the affordability and accessibility of a cell phone.
The Solution
Lightening developed a portfolio of extraordinary battery and recharging technology for original defense applications. By transferring more than 60 intellectual property and patents to support a new era of commercial and personal vehicle designs, this can enable breakthroughs in addressing the main barriers for affordable electric transportation including:
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tens of thousands of charge/discharge cycles which enable an affordable up to 50 year battery life – with low ownership cost and high residual value;
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vehicle-scale recharging in just minutes, eliminating the need for excess carried battery weight/cost for many vehicles
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combined advantages which enable economic personal transportation similar to the price and accessibility of cell phone use.
Implementation
Collaboration partners will share our goals for making a low carbon footprint and affordable mobility accessible for all. Our goals are to enable new transportation models by 2025 and to make Circle demonstrations more broadly available by 2022 and 2023.