Battery/Cells
From Unofficial Zero Manual
< Battery
The current manufacturer of cells for Zero's power packs is Farasis who are supplying pouch cells for the 2013+ model range (Gen2 and Gen3).
- NMC Cell Chemistry
- The chemistry used is Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt: LiNiMnCoO2 ("NMC" or other rearrangements of those letters).
- NMC is a relatively new battery chemistry which differs from the Li-cobalt chemistry we are familiar with from mobile phone batteries and laptops.
- While Li-cobalt has a higher energy density than NMC (storage capacity per kilogram), it doesn't cycle as well and ages quicker.
- That's fine for a mobile phone that is likely to be obsolete after 2-3 years, but not for an electric bike.
- The automotive-grade NMC cells that Farasis supply should easily satisfy the requirements of the five year warranty that Zero are providing with their current Z-Force battery packs.
- It seems they should last 8-10 years if they aren't abused.
- Even if you start to notice some significant deterioration after five years, the rate at which battery technology is progressing means that you should be able to buy a new battery pack with much better capacity (range) than the original for less money.
| Voltage | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Form | Manufacturer | Model | Datasheet | Capacity | Minimum | Nominal | Maximum | Dimensions |
| 2009-2011 | cylindrical | Molicel | IMR-26700A | Molicel 26700 [1] [2] | 2.9Ah | 2.5V | 3.8V | 4.2V±50mV | 26.4mm ⌀ × 70mm |
| 2012 | pouch | EIG | EIG C020 | EIG NCM C020 | 20Ah | 2.5V | 3.65V | 4.15V | 130mm × 217mm × 7.2mm |
| 2013-2014 | Farasis | Farasis 25Ah | Farasis IMP06160230P25A 25Ah or alt | 25Ah | 2.0V | 3.65V | 4.15-4.20V | 161mm × 230mm × 6mm | |
| 2015 | Farasis 27Ah | 27Ah (25Ah label) | 161mm × 230mm × 6mm | ||||||
| 2016-2017 | Farasis 29Ah | 29Ah (28Ah label) | 160mm × 230mm × 6mm | ||||||
| 2018 | Farasis 32Ah | 32Ah (? label) | 160mm × 230mm × 6mm | ||||||
- Farasis Claims
- Per Farasis engineers and industry professionals:
- 25Ah
- A solid cell, and are Farasis's oldest chemistry design.
- They are a manganese-rich cathode (NMC) 25Ah cell with excellent cycle life, and acceptable C-rate.
- 27Ah
- An adaptation of the 25Ah cell chemistry with thinner foils and more of them.
- This means that there is more active materiel (more capacity) but less conductive path to get that capacity in and out.
- So for the slow discharge S/DS bikes, you get more capacity, but they are lower C rate, and cannot handle being used in the FX platform.
- 29Ah
- Higher discharge rate (peak and continuous) than the 25Ah cell.
- More capacity than the 27Ah cell (especially at higher C rates/cooler temperatures).
- 32Ah
- 10% capacity improvement and very likely lower internal resistance.
- Internal weight savings and better cooling are inferred.
| Discharge | Charge | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cell | Continuous | Peak (10sec) | Max Burst | Maximum |
| 25Ah | 4C (100A) | 7C (175A) | 400A | 1C (25A) |
- References
- 2014 ZERO BATTERY CHEMISTRY (Z-FORCE® POWER TANK SECRET SAUCE)
- DoctorBass on Endless Sphere: Zero Motorcycles BATTERY for your E-projects!!
- Charged EVs: New (32Ah) Farasis lithium-ion pouch cell balances power and energy density
- Battery notes from a Farasis Engineer. @ ElectricMotorcyleForum
