
Brighsun’s long-range EV batteries to enter industrial trials - bastijn
https://www.newmobility.global/e-mobility/brighsuns-revolutionary-long-range-ev-batteries-enter-industrial-trials/
======
Animats
This is one of those "either a major breakthrough or total bullshit" articles.
OK, first, who's "Brightsun"? These guys? [1]

\- Last news item on their site is from 2015. No mention of a battery
breakthrough. No mention of battery R&D at all.

\- Address on web site is 50 Hidden Grove Blvd, Keysborough Vic 3173
Australia. That's somebody's house.[2] An alternative address on the web site
is Level 1 530 Little Collins Str, Melbourne VIC 3000 Australia. That's an
office building. Level 1 seems to be a strip club.[4]

\- Related companies. [3] They built an electric bus prototype in 2015, and it
got a record for longest distance on a single charge, but not using any exotic
battery technology. Just a big bus with a big battery.

Where did "newmobility.global" get this story? They don't cite a reporter.
They don't cite a press release. Is someone doing a third party pump and dump
here?

[1]
[http://brighsunauto.com/Index_En.asp](http://brighsunauto.com/Index_En.asp)
[http://brighsuntech.com/](http://brighsuntech.com/)

[2]
[https://earth.google.com/web/@-38.00666219,145.15557573,13.3...](https://earth.google.com/web/@-38.00666219,145.15557573,13.39113295a,0d,60y,305.45541366h,85.85981264t,0r/data=ClcaVRJPCiUweDZhZDYxMzIwZGNkMDhiNjE6MHgxOWJhYzBhYTlmMDE4YWRlGbSNP1HZAEPAIezBpPj4JGJAKhQ1MCBIaWRkZW4gR3JvdmUgQmx2ZBgBIAEiGgoWLUN4Q00zbWdhbDhRbnVCaWN0N1ZDdxAC)

[3] [https://www.aubiz.net/company/brighsun-ev-group-pty-
ltd-1668...](https://www.aubiz.net/company/brighsun-ev-group-pty-
ltd-166881723/)

[4] [https://bigboysclub.com.au/](https://bigboysclub.com.au/)

~~~
close04
> Where did "newmobility.global" get this story?

Most other sites presenting the same news included the paragraph at the end
suggesting it was a press release on the manufacturer's website. Example [0].
I linked to the original source below [1].

[0] [https://www.jcnnewswire.com/pressrelease/58590/2/2000-km-
on-...](https://www.jcnnewswire.com/pressrelease/58590/2/2000-km-on-a-Single-
Charge:-Brighsuns-Li-S-Batteries-to-Enter-Industrial-Trials)

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22950468](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22950468)

~~~
Animats
The press release is better than the "story".

------
danans
For reference, they are claiming a specific energy of ~2000 Wh/kg, whereas
current Li-ion batteries are in the 200 Wh/kg range. At least according to
Wikipedia, so far the highest demonstrated Li-S battery specific energy is 500
Wh/kg.

They are also claiming a cost of $63/kWh vs $156/kWh for Li-ion today.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium%E2%80%93sulfur_battery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium%E2%80%93sulfur_battery)

~~~
taneq
That sounds suspiciously good.

~~~
api
Yeah I'm expecting a caveat like "they explode if they reach 40 degrees C" or
"they degrade by 20% after 20 recharge cycles."

~~~
danans
I do wonder what issues come from storing multiples of the same amount of
energy in the same space, but I'm willing to wait and see. Anyways, beyond 400
miles or so, there's not so much value in longer range passenger EVs
(obviously semi trucks for freight are a different use case). The real win if
they can demonstrate this real-world will be the reduced weight or cost per
mile of range.

~~~
michaelt
_> I do wonder what issues come from storing multiples of the same amount of
energy in the same space_

If it makes you feel any better, gasoline stores 12,888.9 Wh/kg according to
Wikipedia. So if you're worried energy density in car crashes, it's still much
lower than the status quo.

~~~
ac29
The status quo is Lithium-ion batteries which have certainly been known to
spontaneously combust or catch on fire. Gasoline, by contrast, is remarkably
stable.

~~~
ecpottinger
You better not Google car fires if you want to hang onto that belief in the
safety of ICE cars.

~~~
rootusrootus
Gasoline fires don't spontaneously restart, either.

I've also never given much thought to parking my gasoline fueled vehicles
inside my garage. When ICE cars do spontaneously ignite, it's never because of
the gasoline.

I do sometimes think about how prudent it is to park my Tesla underneath my
kids' bedrooms every night while it starts charging unattended after everyone
is asleep. I'm glad to have a smoke alarm in the garage.

~~~
14
I am glad you have a smoke alarm in the garage I am now thinking how mine died
in the garage and I sleep right above it. If it was me in your position I
would make sure I used a linked fire alarm system where if one goes off they
all go off. It will buy you precious extra seconds getting your kids out as
fires can spread incredibly fast.

~~~
rootusrootus
Yep, ours are all wired together. Sometimes when I am a little over-
enthusiastic searing a steak, I think they can probably hear the ruckus a
quarter mile away when every single alarm goes off at once. Makes me feel
somewhat secure that I'll be woken up if there is ever an actual fire.

------
close04
Link to the source announcement:
[http://www.brighsun.com/En/NewsView.asp?ID=45](http://www.brighsun.com/En/NewsView.asp?ID=45)

The slightly different websites in different states of abandonment don't
inspire confidence though.

[http://brighsun.com/Index_En.asp](http://brighsun.com/Index_En.asp)

[http://brighsuntech.com/](http://brighsuntech.com/)

[http://brighsunauto.com/Index_En.asp](http://brighsunauto.com/Index_En.asp)

------
barney54
Lithium sulfur batteries have a lot of potential and I really hope Brightsun’s
tech works as well (or ever close to as well as claimed). However, I’ll
believe it when I see it. There are just too many claims about battery tech
that don’t pan out in actual application.

~~~
NortySpock
Or at least, they pan out in terms of 1% improvements and not 100%
improvements like the breathless journalism claims.

------
rasz
>2103.8Wh/kg

~10x Tesla

>Trial production of high-power cells, with an expected energy density in
excess of 1,000 Wh/kg, is about to begin

oh, so they dont exist yet, explains it

~~~
mrfusion
Makes me wonder if this came to pass. Could an electric car be too light? Is
there a minimum weight a car needs to be?

If the battery got small and you don’t have the ice, could it be a problem?
Would they add weights?

~~~
bluGill
An ice is actually pretty light in some cars. Aluminum blocks save a lot of
weight. In economy cars you can lift both out by hand (I wouldn't recommend
it, the angles are not really what your body handle well but a normal human
can do it)

Most of the weight in a car is the frame which is a lot heavier today than
similar cars of 30 years ago to pass modern safety standards.

Even if there is too little weight it is best for the required components to
be as light as possible. The ability to add weight where you need it for
handling reasons verses where the drive train forces it to be is often
important.

~~~
baybal2
> Most of the weight in a car is the frame which is a lot heavier today than
> similar cars of 30 years ago to pass modern safety standards.

Yes, this is what I was saying to people that a lot of crash worthiness
demands now are counterproductive when everybody now drives 1.5, 2.0t bricks
on wheels because of that.

Yes, that allowed for few more percents survivability in head on collisions,
but at the huge expense of everything else.

Being able to shave off 200kg off an average vehicle will save way more lives
than the amount of lives those 200kg save during 60km/h+ head on collisions.

------
Uhrheber
I'm working in the automotive industry for over 15 years, designing components
for both conventional and electric cars, and I've never heard of this company.

Very fishy.

------
znpy
I'm looking forward to laptops that can stay up one week on a charge.

~~~
bdamm
Personal fans that run all day. Tiles that keep working for decades. Traffic
lights that can be deployed by police wherever they're needed. E-Bicycles that
can outrun and out-range most bus routes. Electric airplanes make air travel
significantly quieter and much cheaper. Internal combustion engines made
obsolete and reduced to a historical curiosity. Electric scooters dominate
worldwide as honda cubs become too expensive to fuel. I want it all.

~~~
sudosysgen
Ebikes can already outrange most bus routes. I'm building a battery pack right
now that should give a range of 150-180kms realistically, for about 300$CAD.
That said, it's going to be pretty heavy at 10kg, but that's less than the
amount of textbooks I was carrying just a few years ago :)

~~~
mkl
That sounds interesting. How big will it be physically?

~~~
sudosysgen
About 5-6 liters, should fit nicely on the rear rack.

------
lxe
Before even reading the article... battery "revolution" claims have been made
every month or so for the past 10 years or so, and we rarely see the claims
materialize into actual technological leaps. Is this one of those claims?

------
vardump
This kind of announcements have been way too many. At this point no matter how
amazing battery someone has managed to build in a lab, I don't care unless
it's manufacturable in large quantities. There are plenty of amazing batteries
that lack that quality.

That said, it would be really cool if the claims are true. I so _want_ this to
be true. Just not holding my breath.

------
kwhitefoot
The problem for small cars is that while the specific energy (J/kg) is better
than lithium ion the energy density (J/L) is most likely lower. In small cars
the volume occupied by the battery is a significant constraint.

But it's good to see some competition, at least it will be if it works.

------
magwa101
Forget large scale deploy test blah, outfit one car and drive it 1000kms,
charge, got another 1000kms, video it, put on youtube, then we're onboard.

~~~
MobiusHorizons
IMO the actually hard part is getting the tech to work the same as it did in
the lab when you put it through volume manufacturing. A lot of things seem to
go wrong in this phase even when the battery chemistry works well enough to
create a hand-crafted battery pack that would actually show long range. I
really hope they are successful, but until they can show manufacturing working
I will keep my enthusiasm in check.

~~~
ianai
How bout do both?

------
kwhitefoot
Why is their name a misspelling?

