Moderator note: The first fifteen posts in this thread are a merge of two related threads on the same topic. Apple Car Production Slated for 2024 With 'Next Level' Battery Technology Apple Car May Be For Sale By September 2021, Says Taiwanese Newspaper Apple has been working on some kind of car project since 2014, and there was a point when it seemed like the company's efforts could be scaled back to autonomous vehicle software, but after several management changes and shifts in hiring, Apple's work on a car has progressed and the company now feels that it is able to build a vehicle for consumers. Unnamed sources told Reuters that Apple is developing a new battery design that has the potential to "radically" reduce the cost of batteries and increase the vehicle's range. Apple is building a "monocell" design that will bulk up the individual battery cells and free up space inside the battery pack by removing pouches and modules that hold battery materials. This will allow for more active material in a smaller package. Apple's design means that more active material can be packed inside the battery, giving the car a potentially longer range. Apple is also examining a chemistry for the battery called LFP, or lithium iron phosphate, the person said, which is inherently less likely to overheat and is thus safer than other types of lithium-ion batteries. One person who spoke to Reuters described Apple's battery technology as "next level" and said that it's similar to "the first time you saw the iPhone."
Sounds like another Apple disaster in the making. LFP is the core of the “next level” battery technology? It isn’t next level, it is the poor man’s cheap battery tech that has less energy density, higher weight, but less cost. You can make lower cost cars with it, but not anything with long range. And then Apple wants to contract manufacture the car? Yikes! I’m 100% positive no one in the EV industry is losing sleep over this.
Here is the original source Exclusive: Apple targets car production by 2024 and eyes 'next level' battery technology - sources
A company like Apple designing the fit and finish of a Model X-like vehicle would be a very attractive proposition to me. Apple shares rise on report of 2024 car rollout plan — Reuters
Any plan four years away isn’t something I’m too interested in. Apple is also reportedly looking to outsource the car manufacturing. Considering how important that is to, well, any current car manufacturer, that doesn’t sound like a winning strategy.
This. This tells me immediately that the whole Apple car story is written by stock market people for stock market people and for Robinhood "investors". It seems the concept of an automotive battery monocell does not exist anywhere outside of Apple writers. Basically, this means that a capacity reduction in any place of the battery will immediately limit the capacity of the entire battery and if one place is dead, the battery is dead. And if anything gets damaged, get ready for 400V fireworks! Unf%^ng believable idea! Nikola at least used a proven technology of gravity. Again, this is just a made-up story for Tesla's introduction to the S&P to reduce stock price and let the investment funds buy their required Tesla stock at lower price. Nothing to do with new technology, nothing to do with Apple.
Well it would take 800 of these LiFePO4 batteries to equal what is in an early model S. Retail cost $800,000 Home | Battle Born Batteries | battlebornbatteries.com
That was me not thinking well. The maximum voltage will be very low limited by the chemistry of the cell. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1341484482302533635
Pretty sure that's not what they meant. I'm assuming it's more like the way Apple was one of the first companies to switch from round cells in their laptops to lithium polymer pouch cells, which greatly increases density. The problem with that, of course, is that once you exceed a certain density, your maximum charge and discharge speed become limited by your ability to keep it cool. That's not a big deal for laptops, but for cars, it's a showstopper.
I am surprise that no one mention Sony which shown a concept car during the 2020 CES? Sony Reveals Vision-S Concept, Grabs Foothold in EV Future
The charging/discharging speeds are also depend strongly on the capacitance of a battery. The capacitance increases with area, so a single cell large battery is a really bad idea. Plus, it cannot get voltage more than a few volts. So either the news statements are written by morAns or the story is a total fake ... or both.