Audacious Quant car gets go-ahead
One of the most audacious car designs to date, the exotic Quant E-Sport-Limousine (QESL), which has a massive range coupled with rocket acceleration and a stellar top speed, on electric power alone, has been approved for use on public roads after detailed testing by the SGS-TUV Saar German safety watchdog.
This means that its nanoFlowcell technology has been officially approved for use on public roads in Germany and the rest of Europe.
The nanoFlowcell technology is similar to that used in the Orbat battery system described on page 10 in that two different electrolytic solutions are pumped through the appropriate battery cell in which an electrode (anode or cathode) is located.
A membrane that is it bit like very sturdy household cling film separates the two electrolyte chambers and their differing chemistries. No mixing occurs between the high-charge ion carrier and the low-charge one; this would be useless for producing electrical power.
However, unlike the organic-based Orbat system, which was developed in America, the nanoFlowcell was conceived and is being developed in Zurich, Switzerland.
And the reason that the nanoFlowcell performs so well lies in the characteristics of its newlydeveloped electrolytic fluids, made up of exacting combinations of specific metallic salts at very high concentration.
The charge-carriers within the carrier liquid have been taken to a new level of charge density through the use of quantum-chemical nanomechanisms and therefore carry more energy than anything previously seen: at a nominal voltage of 600V and 50A nominal current, the system is achieving an impressive continuous output of 30kW.
In terms of energy storage capacity and density, the nanoFlowcell can already store 20 times more energy than the conventional lead-acid battery. This means driving 20-times further with the stored energy in a battery of the same weight.
It has a five-times greater capacity (and therefore potential driving range) than current lithium-ion technology, with which many current electric cars are powered.
Another advantage comes through the simple scalability of the nanofloecell® storage tanks. The first QESL prototype has two 200-litre tanks on board to give it a total storage of 120 kWh.
And here’s where it gets really exciting: for the QESL uses its energy reserves frugally, consuming about 20 kWh/100 km by the use of supercapacitors which release energy slowly.
Yet it has four powerful three-phase induction motors that each drive a wheel to give all-wheel drive, coupled with torque vectoring for optimal torque distribution, and to make the vehicle driveable!
Each motor produces 170 kW, to give a total output of 680kW, with toque so massive that it could literally pull a train – 2,900Nm x four!
This results in a projected 0-100km/ h time of 2.9 seconds, a top speed of 380km/h, and a projected range between charges o between 400 and 600km – obviously depending on how quickly you drive!
All this is clothed in futuristic fourseater bodywork with gull wings, with a wheelbase of 3,198mm, overall length of 5,257mm, width of 2,019mm and height 1,357mm. No prices yet.
And nanoFlowcell AG and Bosch Engineering GmbH have formed a partnership to further develop vehicle electronics for the QESL – a strong indication that it’s not all just pie-inthe-sky!