Designed for ocean racing, the trimaran Arkema 4 was launched in September to begin its first trials.
For this new competition trimaran, PowerTech developed very specific servitude batteries, using fluoropolymer separator films in Kynar® technology from the company Arkema.
This new material has very high resistance characteristics, with an extremely low film thickness. The result is the development of even safer battery cells with a 4% reduction in weight.
This battery powers the vital equipment of the racing boat. It is recharged via solar panels.
As a reminder, all our products now use the new generation cell which ensures a better service life (3000 cycles at 100% DoD at 1C, 4500 cycles at 80% DoD at 1C) and an increased energy density of +25%.
The PowerBrick 12V-30Ah makes its entry using the PowerBrick 12V-20Ah enclosure, i. e. an energy density increased by +50% in the same enclosure
The PowerBrick 12V-45Ah complements the 12V-40Ah version by using the same box (+12.5% more energy) PowerBrick 12V-70Ah uses the same housing as the PowerBrick 12V-55Ah (+27% more energy)
Ditto for the PowerBrick 48V-72Ah which takes over the case of the 48V-61Ah version (+18% more capacity)
All previous ranges are preserved, and all now equipped with our new generation cell.
After more than a year of intensive testing, we are now using a new high-performance lithium LiFePO4 cells to replace the cells used in our products.
This new generation of cell retains all the safety and robustness of those used in our products to date and adds two major improvements:
Specific Energy improved by 25% : It is possible to accommodate 1/4 more energy in the same volume.
Improved operation life by 50% : Cycling tests performed show a performance of 3000 cycles of full charge-discharge cycles (100% depth of discharge) at 1C. This represents a 50% increase in the number of cycles compared to the previous generation.
At a DoD of 80% at 1C, the number of cycles performed rises to 4500.
Below chart shows the estimated number of cycles for our new generation of Lithium LiFePO4 cells, according to the discharge power and DOD figures. The test conditions are those of a laboratory (constant temperature of 25°C, constant charge and discharge power).
Life Cycle chart of new LiFePO4 cell generation
We can read from the chart the below figures :
3 000 cycles at 100% DoD @ 1C
4 500 cycles at 80% DoD @ 1C
10 000 cycles at 60% DoD @ 1C
etc.
It should be noted that following the number of completed cycles, the cell still have a nominal capacity > 80% of the original capacity.
Our main product ranges: PowerBrick, PowerRack and PowerModule, will benefit in the coming months from this new generation of cells with an increase in capacity, a reduction in weight but also a significantly improved lifespan.
Mini-Transat “La Boulangère” is a long course of 4050 nautical miles alone, on the smallest offshore racing boats, only 6.50m long, will be done in two stages. The first, departing from La Rochelle on September 22nd 2019, will go to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria located in the Canary Islands. The second of 2700 miles will last around two weeks for the fastest until the final finish in Le Marin en Martinique from mid-November.
For this 2019 vintage, we are accompanying skipper Bastian Oger in his race. Bastian reqyestedus to equip him with PowerBrick batteries because he wanted to save several tens of kilos on board. For the race, every gram counts and a few tens of kilos can make a big advantage.
So we equipped the boat with two PowerBrick 12v-100Ah (one main and one backup) to power all onboard instruments during the race. The service batteries will be recharged with solar panels.
The autonomy tests are very conclusive with twice capacity for roughly half weight. And Bastian is very happy and eager to start, so we are !
Here are some pictures of Bastian aboard his boat. We wish him good luck for the race.
The famous Swiss manufacturer of inverters for self-consumption and off-grid applications has confirmed the full compatibility between their inverters in the following range :
The PowerRack® range ensures compatibility with direct communication via the Xcom-CAN system for full battery control by the inverter.
The PowerBrick® range is compatible without the need for communication with the inverter. PowerBrick are then installed in the same way as AGM lead-acid batteries or other batteries. This installation method is faster and does not require additional cables or systems to operate.
We are delighted to work with Studer Innotec, a company that has been producing high quality energy converters for many years. Unlike other manufacturers, Studer Innotec controls the entire design of its products, which is a guarantee of reliability and an assurance of product durability.
