why this electric car has it all figured out

The start-up Nyobolt unveils its Nyobolt EV, an electric sports car inspired by the mythical Lotus Elise. With its small battery capable of recharging in just six minutes, this new creation has understood everything about the electric car!

Autonomy is still a delicate subject with regard to the electric car, even if we know today that it is not the most important. This is what the German organization P3 recently proved, in a report that we told you about in a previous article.

An adorable electric sports car

Because with the rise of fast charging solutions, it is now more relevant to look at the time spent at the terminal rather than how often you have to go there. And that, some manufacturers seem to have understood. This is particularly the case of the young British start-up Nyobolt, founded in 2019 by Professor Clare Grey. Specializing in the development of batteries, it has just taken a new step.

The firm unveils in a press release its very first electric car, the style of which was designed by the Callum Designs studio. But this car, although it should be marketed, is not intended to become a mass-produced model. Rather, it is a support for the new technology developed by the company, which has been working for years on the development of batteries using an anode combining tungsten and niobium.

This is the very first time that this technology has been implemented in a production car. And there is no doubt that this one will not fail to attract the attention of enthusiasts, with its design drawing heavily on the Lotus Elise. To tell the truth, there is nothing surprising in this, since the designer of this newcomer is Julian Thomson, who designed the mythical Englishwoman.

However, there is no question of creating an exact replica, but of modernizing this icon. This Nyobolt EV is 15 centimeters longer and is 10 centimeters wider. In addition, its body is entirely made of carbon fiber, while it is equipped with 19-inch wheels. For the record, the Elise is content with 15 inches in the front and 16 in the back. The sports car is also adorned with a roof (hard-top) removable and mirror-cameras.

Six minutes to recharge… to 100%

But more than the style, it is above all what is hidden underneath that particularly interests us. As we mentioned a little above, this new Nyobolt EV therefore embeds tungsten and niobium based batteries, which offer better density than LFP (lithium – iron – phosphate) technology. An advantage which makes it possible to make the accumulator more compact and to reduce its capacity, which has many advantages.

The battery of the electric sports car is only 35 kWh, which is very little (the Renault Zoé has a 52 kWh accumulator for comparison), while the range is displayed at 250 kilometers, probably according to the WLTP certification cycle. If some might think that it is too little, we know that it is no longer necessary today to be able to cover great distances in one go. Because it requires a large battery, which increases the weight as well as the consumption, but also the metals required for its production.

The choice of a small accumulator makes it possible to eliminate this problem, while reducing the time spent at the terminal. A strategy already adopted by Ford with its e-Tourneo Courier and its future electric Puma. Nyobolt has understood this too, while its new technology for its battery allows it to be fully charged (0-100%) in just six minutes. This is made possible by a very reasonable charging power, with an average of 210 kW thanks to a high charging rate, at 6C.

The company specifies that this figure can be reached on terminals of the existing network. In addition, this small battery allows the 400 horsepower sports car to display a contained weight of only 1,250 kilos. The firm now plans to bring this technology to market by the end of the decade. An interesting alternative to sodium and solid electrolyte batteries.