Battery system developed by firm with Nissan

HORIBA MIRA has pioneered a high-voltage commercial battery with Nissan.

The battery system was developed by the Hinckley-based company for use in hybrid buses, trucks, defence and off-highway systems, and offers double the energy density from previous generations.

This allows for a smaller, lighter battery pack, while increasing vehicle range.

Nissan’s latest Leaf cell tech- nology was used in the Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide Lithium ion cells that make up the battery pack. It can deliver capacities from 67kWh up to 400kWh.

Prototypes will be available in early 2018, with potential for volume supply in 2019.

Dr George Gillespie, chief executive at Horiba Mira, said: “Efficient and cost-effective lithium ion battery technology is key to accelerating the uptake of hybrid and electric vehicles.

“This development takes us one step closer to hitting the UK targets for emission reduction in the commercial vehicle sector.”

The battery was first developedas part of a collaboration with Dennis Eagle, a leading UK specialist vehicles manufacturer for the Urban Vehicle Range (UVR) programme.

The UVR project is developing a range of low emission and fuel- efficient vehicles for waste collection applications, including a plugin hybrid vehicle.

Construction of a groundbreaking Advance Battery Development Centre at Horiba Mira began last month.

The facility will provide complete battery pack testing, simulated battery pack testing, integration testing and development of powertrain and battery packs at system level.