Formula E is an all electric cousin of Formula 1. The electric racing car can do 0-62 mph in 2.8 seconds with top seed of 174 mph. This type of racing started about 5 years ago but the cars were unable to finish the laps in a single charge. But since last year that has changed because of a California based company named Lucid who make batteries and also expected to produce their own luxury car next year.
The company uses proprietary expertise particularly in thermal modeling, thermal control and in structural analysis. They make all their batteries in their headquarters in Silicon Valley. Lucid supplied battery packs to Formula E for the first time in season 5 which happened last year, 2018. This information was actually not revealed to public until now, it was kept confidential.
This year, they have taken the spotlight. They will continue to supply batteries to Formula E until their contract expires after season 8 in 2021. The company uses in-house management software for the batteries that will help the cars complete the race. Their deal with Formula E is part of a bigger plan according to the company. It generates nominal revenues, but the real reason they are doing this is to prove to the world that they have the state of the art technology. The question remains, if they are doing it for marketing purposes, then why did they keep this information confidential for so long?
Lucid air will be a luxury electric car expected to hit production by the end of 2020. It is expected to give tough competition to its rivals, mainly Tesla Model S. They are currently making prototypes and working on battery packs. The goal is to reduce the weight of batteries as much as possible, robotics and scanning technology is being used to increase the battery density.
According to the company, Formula E battery packs are 20% more dense than their competitors, and also the packs are very light weight. The energy density of these batteries is more than any electric vehicle commercially available at this time. So if Lucid transfer this battery technology to other forthcoming vehicles, it will give them a real advantage. There is also a possibility that they form partnerships with other automakers and supply them with Lucid batteries.
