Renault: the battery of the electric R5 could do without cobalt
Renault could use LFP type batteries, used in particular on the very latest Tesla, for its next R5. This would allow both to do without cobalt, but also to lower...
01/10/2022
Renault could use LFP type batteries, used in particular on the very latest Tesla, for its next R5. This would allow both to do without cobalt, but also to lower costs, to offer a car in accordance with the average basket of the new vehicle.
Renault's new R5 still has a bit of time ahead of it. If the development is logically already advanced, it does not prevent that the diamond brand has something to think about again on the chemistry of the batteries. A crucial point, since this is what will directly affect the selling price, which must be equivalent to that of an equivalent hybrid or thermal engine model. Clearly, a price well under €30,000 for this R5 which will not arrive before the end of 2023, at best, in a French market where the ecological bonus will be continuously revised downwards.
To limit costs, Renault should use LPF (lithium iron phosphate) batteries which would thus replace the traditional NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) batteries widely used today on electric vehicles. An LFP battery notably used by the Tesla Model 3 assembled in China, which has allowed the price to drop significantly recently.
More stable and less prone to thermal runaway, the LFP battery has one disadvantage: lower energy density.
The future R5 will be based on the new CMF-B EV platform, which will be used for other compact electric models at Renault, in a range from 20,000 to 30,000 €.