Game-changing battery lets Lightning riders play all day with gas bikes

Lightning’s wild LS-218 Superbike and Strike Sportbike are among the first EVs to feature Enevate’s ultra-high density, ultra-fast charging, next-generation silicon anode batteries.

These are the first electric bikes that can truly go out and ride hard all day alongside petrol bikes without having to wait on anyone, provided the right charging infrastructure is available.

Lightning and Enevate have been testing prototype Strike bikes around California during a break from extreme weather. This is what he powers a whopping 24 kWh battery pack full of enevate cells. These are significantly denser than Lightning’s standard battery cells, so a 24 kWh pack takes up the same space as a standard 20 kWh pack. But it offers an impressive range of boosts.

“We get 150 to 170 miles (241 to 274 km) range at 70 miles per hour (113 km/h) along Highway 5,” Lightning founder and CEO Richard Hatfield said by phone. increase. “And we’re charging at a rate of 0-80%, or almost 5C, in about 10 minutes with a Level 3 CCS charger, which is probably the most common non-Tesla level 3 charger at the moment. Tesla offers a CCS option on select chargers.”

With an 80% charge, it can travel about 135 miles (217 km), so you’re looking at a motorcycle charging at about 810 miles per hour (1,303 km/h). Realistically, most petrol-burning sports bikes start to get thirsty somewhere around 120 miles (200 km). When it comes to ergonomics, a 10 minute refueling stop isn’t much of a problem. It’s the first high-performance electric vehicle we know of, and it won’t let your petrolhead pals strike the clock.

To cope with these charge rates, the bike’s electrical system had to be beefed up. “That means 120 kW of power will be delivered continuously for about 10 minutes,” he says. At 300 amps and 400 volts he’s 10 minutes straight and there’s no place he can really do that on the throttle. So all interconnects, cables, charging connectors and even contactors had to be rethought. And inside the fairing, air has to move to cool the components to maintain that level of charge. ”

We explored Enevate’s next-generation battery tech in 2020, so check out our previous coverage to dig deeper. But basically, by using pure silicon anodes with specific electrolytes and cell design innovations, the Orange County operation can now produce batteries that charge up to 10 times faster than current lithium-ion cells. It offers. In fact, these Lightning Bike batteries could potentially charge twice as fast if they could handle the heat.

Plus, it’s much more energy dense in both volume and weight than today’s top contenders. BatteryDesign.net, A Tesla 4680-type cell in the Model Y in late 2022 will store around 650 Wh/liter and 244 Wh/kg. Enevate claims “more than 850 Wh/liter and more than 340 Wh/kg”. This is about 30% more energy for a given volume and about 40% more energy for a given weight.

“This is a game changer,” says Hatfield. “For me, it’s really exciting. The energy density is as great as the charging rate and really changes the practical equation for electric riders. The geniuses of battery chemistry have found a way to extend cycle life and manage the swelling that occurs when silicon anode batteries are charged very quickly. It’s much longer than most motorcycles last. Few people have ridden it… those miles.”

These are indeed special batteries. And rightly so, at boutique prices. Hatfield has confirmed that there will be optional extras (he 24 kWh pack for Strike and 28 kWh pack for LS-218) that build slot reservation owners can specify, adding about $8,000 to the price. To do. bike. This further pushes the standard $19,988 Strike Carbon Edition from superbike territory into premium territory, and his standard $38,888 LS-218 into dream machine range.

But that’s just the price of early adoption. “This is new technology,” he says Hatfield. “But there is nothing technology-specific that would prevent it from competing with other cells available. need to see similar volumes, i know they have a lot of conversations with auto OEMs – i think it’s probably 2-3 years before this is priced similarly to other batteries .”

Either way, these numbers are peanuts when compared to performance cars, and I still rate the LS-218 as one of the most face-melting extreme experiences legally available to civilians. We want you to ride one of our new bikes, I think we’ve made a lot of progress and we keep looking for ways to make it better.”

Lightning, which still operates at Corbin’s facility in California, has already sold as many Standard Strikes as it can build for 2023, so for the time being it’s only selling the Carbon Edition.

“Production is picking up pace. We are filling orders,” says Hatfield. “And at the same time come up with some updated models.”

The company is also still keen on competition. “We’ve got a high-performance aero bike, and we’re going to see if we can break the land speed record in May,” says Hatfield. “We are excited to do it. The lessons learned in the land speed race will help with street bike aerodynamics and efficiency. It’s a wonderful university.

“I will also take some opportunities to get out on the track and compete here,” he continues. “Moto America’s Super Hooligan event allows Electric to compete head-to-head.This is a good opportunity to challenge yourself and the competition. I know Energica participated in the Daytona event, it came in 5th place – I believe some privateers from Zero Factory also participated in the Super Hooligan event.

Check out Enevate’s battery powered prototype in the video below.

Source: Lightning/Enevate