FW17 wrote: ↑23 Jan 2024, 10:31
Formula E battery pack weighs 284 kgs for 47 kw which includes a structural casing, internal BMS etc. This is 0.165kwh/kg
2.5kwh ~ 9mj ~ could be about 15 kg
There must be some reason why the pack weight allowance in F1 is so high. some of the reasons I can think off is ....
>the inverter (CE) could be part of the same pack, but not sure how they can be changed separately
>cooling requirement much higher as all the cells are power optimized meant for quick charge and discharge while the Formula E battery pack has separate modules for 47kwh of energy optimized cells and a small pack of power optimized cells for the regen braking
As wuzak
replied, there are now slightly more items defined within ES Main Enclosure (ESME) so it's definitely not just cells. However, the rules will still allow for only 4MJ difference in max and min SOC. So to use the full 9MJ available to harvest and use over a lap, you'll have at least 2 charge/discharge cycles over a lap. Basically, you need the batteries to run under very high electrical load and thermal stress over the entire race. The only way I can see this happening is if you have a lot of cells, but run them between 40-70% SOC all the time, so well within the 30-80% span for fast charging.
FW17 wrote: ↑23 Jan 2024, 11:05
F1 should have kept the battery pack out of the Power Unit. Customer teams should have been allowed to make there own custom packs with other than OEM partners. Just like teams could use different fuels and lubricants but with same engine, battery packs also could have been a cheaper option for teams to collaborate with other suppliers than buying from OEM partner.
Merc > Merc ICE > Petronas fuel > Merc A123 battery pack
Williams > Merc ICE > Total fuel > LG battery pack
Mclaren > Merc ICE > BASF fuel > Panasonic battery pack
I'd love to see this one day and I think it will happen. Right now, I think all teams are happy to buy the PU as a whole, it's not like you have loads of experts in high performance motorsport battery pack development
and optimal utilisation. I only see McLaren as capable of doing it right now, but lets not forget that there will be very few customer teams in 2026:
Works teams - Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin Honda, Alpine, Audi and Andretti (hopefully)
Customers - McLaren, Williams, RB (more like sister works team though) and Haas
So who knows, maybe this becomes a topic at one point.