FIRST GT: The Polestar 5 will arrive in 2025 as the brand’s first GT model. All photos: PETER RAAUM
Full charge in 10 minutes:
The Polestar 5 will arrive in 2025, which can be quickly recharged in 10 minutes. The battery manufacturer is aiming for a range of 40 miles with a five-minute quick charge.
LOS ANGELES (Motoring): Polestar is in the midst of launching two SUV models, and its fifth model, a Grand Tourer, has yet to be shown in a production-ready version.
But what we already know about the car is more than exciting.
On the one hand, the car’s aluminum body is lighter than some comparable models, as rigid as that of extreme sports cars, and receives enough power (a prototype with a total engine output of 650 kW/884 hp was tested) . We are therefore talking about a challenger in the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT category.
But perhaps more importantly, after all:
Partnering with Israeli battery company StoreDot, Polestar comes with a car that quickly charges from 10 to 80 percent in less than 10 minutes.
And it doesn’t have to end here.
– The aim is for charging for 400 kilometers of driving to be done in five minutes. It’s the best we can currently imagine with this technology, says Doron Myersdorf, CEO of StoreDot.
BATTERY DEVELOPER: Doron Myersdorf at battery company StoreDot.
Short coffee break
Polestar 5 will be the first car on the market equipped with technology that makes charging stops as quick as refueling.
But there are more on the way.
– We work with around 15 different car manufacturers, says Meyersdorf – and lists Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and the Vietnamese Vinfast.
– They are the only ones I can mention now, next to Polestar, because they have all invested in the company, he adds.
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Energy density
Technology?
The battery chemistry is a so-called NCM blend of nickel, cobalt and magnesium, which is more expensive than the blend we find in LFP batteries increasingly common in the Chinese auto industry. It allows for an energy density of 330 Wt/kg, today’s Tesla batteries have a density of 270.
StoreDot uses silicon in the battery’s anode material, which usually creates difficulties because silicon expands when it bonds with lithium ions. But the company has developed a material (made of polymer, among other things) with a structure that holds the silicon in place.
– Even if the expansion means we have to make compromises and can’t get the maximum energy out of the silicon, we get a solution that provides about 20% more energy, says Meyersdorf.
The result is a battery that not only charges quickly, but maintains its capacity over time and can be quickly charged more than 1,000 times before losing power appreciably.
– You should be able to travel almost 500,000 km – and only on a fast charge – before the battery reaches 80% of its original capacity, says Meyersdorf.
STARTUP: Doron Myersdorf founded StoreDot in 2012. Four investment rounds later, some of the world’s largest automakers are on the owner’s side.
Costly
But it doesn’t hide the fact that this is battery technology that costs money and is aimed at more expensive cars.
– For less expensive cars, sodium metal ion batteries could be a great replacement for LFP batteries, which still contain lithium ions. In principle we could also use sodium ions, but then the technological advantages we gain today would be significantly reduced, says Meyersdorf.
Battery companies are looking for alternatives to expensive lithium metal, and Chinese automakers (including JAC) have already tested sodium ion as an alternative.
However, battery technology is only part of this. The actual configuration of the battery in the car is also important, especially since the question of weight is closely linked to consumption and autonomy. StoreDot battery cells are available in both prismatic and cylindrical shapes, or as bags, which can be placed in various places on the bodywork.
New headquarters
Polestar has not released details on the dimensions of the Polestar 5, but says it will be a significantly lower car than most electric cars, precisely because the absence of a huge battery block in the door opens up the opportunity to design the car in a different way.
It looks like the lowest model built by Polestar, with the batteries positioned under the two rows of seats.
The Polestar 5 was first presented in the winter of 2020 – in the form of the so-called Polestar Precept, with a left-hinged front door on the driver’s side, no B-pillar and with a compartment from a science fiction film.
But for a brand similar to Volvo, this design game will never become a reality until the safety challenges become too evident.
– Volvo will never let you make a less safe car than the one it has already built, says Polestar designer Nahum Escobedo.
THE DREAM OF 2020: Polestar Precept, seen on a winter day in 2020.
REALITY 2025: Precept has become Polestar 5, ready for launch in 2025.
Versatile
– But the truly innovative thing about this car is the aluminum platform on which it is built. Not only does it allow the car to be built lower, but it also allows the batteries to be positioned which makes the platform so flexible that we can build a roadster on the same construction, the next Polestar 6. Here it will be possible to sit in the back seat with your legs up a natural sitting position, not under your chin as you would if this same-height car had the battery pack stretched from axle to axle, Escobedo says.
A prototype of the Polestar 5 was presented during the Goodwood Festival last summer. According to the plan, it will be ready for production in 2025.
The version we saw at the Polestar event in November is pretty close to the final version on the outside. And it comes without the front wing introduced on the Polestar 3.
– That’s because we don’t need it. This machine is sufficiently aerodynamic, even without such a wing, says Escobedo.
CLEAR REAR: Neither the Polestar 5 nor the Polestar 6 roadster model will have a traditional rear window.
2023-12-28 15:51:03
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