South Korean company said to be working on 'Apple Car' battery tech

A South Korean company's physical advancement in hollow-cored lithium-ion battery technology is allegedly on tap for the potential future "Apple Car" currently in development under the "Project Titan" aegis.

The company that Apple has been having the reported battery discussions with is not named in the etNews report. A high-ranking official from the unnamed company said that "because we made a NDA with Apple, we cannot discuss any information regarding this project."

Hollow-core battery technology gives a battery cell more surface area per battery volume than a closed cylindrical one, and allows for more efficient dissipation of heat generated during the normal charge and discharge cycle.

In an emergent condition, gas vented from a hollow-core battery can be conducted through the center channel for safe dispersion. Additionally, A hollow-cored cylindrical battery can also be engineered to make electrical connections in parallel or in series without soldering or welding, easing repair and potential individual battery cell replacements, as opposed to having to replace an entire bank if a single cell has failed.

Batteries made by the undisclosed company at present are the size of "two fingers" according to the report. It is not known if the hollow core technology is scaleable to a larger cell for any potential Apple Car, or how far the benefits of the technology extend as the cell size increases.

After a report of a change in expected rolloutfor the fruits of "Project Titan" from 2020 to 2021, former Apple executive Bob Mansfield appears to have taken over the project. Apple appears to be hiding the Apple Car effort under shell company SixtyEight Research, LLC in Sunnyvale, Calif.

21 Comments

SpamSandwich 32917 comments · 19 Years

About 8 years ago

Why wouldn't Tesla utilize this if it was inherently safer or more efficient? Their premium price dictates they have the leeway to choose whatever premium solutions are available. I doubt the accuracy of this rumor.

gatorguy 24602 comments · 13 Years

http://servicehostnet.com/domain/68research.com

Otherwise it doesn't say or mean anything.

ericthehalfbee 4489 comments · 13 Years

SpamSandwich said:

Why wouldn't Tesla utilize this if it was inherently safer or more efficient? Their premium price dictates they have the leeway to choose whatever premium solutions are available. I doubt the accuracy of this rumor.

This is for future batteries - Tesla is scaling current tech so they can be put into production vehicles. Makes one wonder if they can retrofit their Gigafacttory if a major battery breakthrough occurs.

And I doubt Tesla has any leeway. They charge a premium price for an average car that happens to be electric and fast in a straight line. If they had "leeway" they should be putting more features into their cars that their competitors have had for years.

sirlance99 1301 comments · 11 Years

ericthehalfbee said:

SpamSandwich said:

Why wouldn't Tesla utilize this if it was inherently safer or more efficient? Their premium price dictates they have the leeway to choose whatever premium solutions are available. I doubt the accuracy of this rumor.

This is for future batteries - Tesla is scaling current tech so they can be put into production vehicles. Makes one wonder if they can retrofit their Gigafacttory if a major battery breakthrough occurs.

And I doubt Tesla has any leeway. They charge a premium price for an average car that happens to be electric and fast in a straight line. If they had "leeway" they should be putting more features into their cars that their competitors have had for years.

Tesla will when the technology is perfected.

cali 3494 comments · 10 Years

I'm starting to think Apple should acquire all companies they work with to fend off future copycats. At the least they can license tech they own to copycats.