DETROIT
- Chinese automaker BYD Auto today rolled out
a massive electric vehicle today that uses an "iron-based" battery to go more
than 200 miles on a charge.
Known as the E6, the new vehicle will be marketed as a family-oriented
crossover having roughly the same exterior dimensions as a typical family car. Weighing
in at 5,060 lb, the new EV is 179 inches long and 64 inches high, making it
significantly larger than most of the electric vehicles introduced to date. BYD
introduced the E6, which
is expected to be marketed in the U.S. later this year, at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS)
here.
The E6 departs from previous EVs, not only in its size, but
in its use of the company's so-called "Fe" battery. BYD officials at the show declined
to describe the battery specifically other than to say that it is "iron-based,"
but it is believed to use a lithium iron-phosphate chemistry. A spokesman for
the company said the battery's cost is approximately one-third that of
lithium-ion batteries being used in competing EVs and its energy density is
about 90 percent of that of lithium-ion. BYD officials said they are able to
build the battery for low cost because BYD is "the biggest battery company in
the world."
Because the E6 is so large, it uses a battery pack weighing
"more than 400 kg" (880 lb), BYD officials say. (Experts at the show suggested
that the battery pack could weigh significantly more than 400 kg). "Yes, it's
bigger," said Paul Lin, a BYD spokesman. "But it costs less and is safer than
lithium-ion. That's what's important."
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Designing and filling a new type of water bottle might take less engineering work, but the description will help kids understand how science, math, and engineering influence their lives even through things that seem mundane.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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