Start with a blacksmith shop.

Chapter 172 The Horrifying Graphene

However, compared to the lithium batteries we usually use, whether it's ternary lithium or lithium iron phosphate,

Both types of batteries have significant temperature drawbacks; they are both sensitive to both cold and heat.

This necessitates battery protection and preheating, as well as additional heat dissipation measures for the battery.

If not handled carefully during use, the battery life will be greatly reduced.

These two types of batteries only have 800-1000 charge-discharge cycles, and generally can be used for eight to ten years.

However, nothing is absolute; this is only theoretical data. In daily use, batteries are frequently charged and discharged with high currents.

This can lead to a 50% reduction in battery life, or even greater degradation in harsh usage environments.

Due to its properties, graphene possesses excellent thermal and electrical conductivity, allowing it to operate in harsh environments ranging from -50 to 110°C.

It performs well in both high and low temperature environments, and its performance is not significantly affected by temperature.

However, the battery he developed this time was different. He conducted meticulous research on the number of charge and discharge cycles and finally solved the problem.

Even the best lithium batteries currently manufactured in laboratories can only withstand 3000-6000 full charge-discharge cycles, never exceeding 10,000.

However, the battery he developed has been able to withstand over 10,000 charge-discharge cycles, reaching 50000 complete charge-discharge cycles.

Moreover, even after reaching this number of times, it doesn't mean the battery is completely ruined. It just means the battery has degraded to some extent, but it can still maintain a capacity of over 85%.

Previously, we introduced the advantages of his battery in terms of charging and discharging, as well as charging speed, and most importantly, its capacity has also been greatly improved.

Because graphene can be made as thin as an atom, the energy density of batteries will be greatly increased.

For the same 18650 model power battery, the graphene-made version has at least ten times higher energy density within the same volume.

What will be the result of this? That is, for the same 18650 battery, ternary lithium and lithium iron phosphate batteries can achieve capacities of 2500-3400mAh.

But graphene batteries have ten times the energy density of those, meaning they could have a capacity of at least 25000 mAh.

What will be the consequences of this? To give a simple example, take Weihua's foldable phone; its battery capacity is 4500mAh.

Someone even did a test on it before, playing Genshin Impact for 7 hours and 10 minutes without stopping when it was fully charged.

If a battery of the same size were replaced with this one, it would have a capacity of 45000mAh, ten times that, and the runtime would be 81 hours and 40 minutes.

That translates to more than three days. Don't underestimate those three days; this is the standby time tested under high power consumption mode.

If used normally, the standby time can last for a day, and with its graphene version, it can last for ten days or even longer without needing to be charged.

It seems that in an instant, the standby time of mobile phones has returned to the Nokia era, a time when you could go for more than a week without having to charge your phone.

With these figures laid out before you, how can any other battery compare? No matter how much you argue, it's still incomparable.

What kind of effect would it have if such a battery were used in his electric motorcycles or electric cars?

That would give current cars ten times the battery capacity, allowing a car that could previously travel only 400 kilometers to go over 3,000 kilometers.

Even if you keep the air conditioning or heater on the whole time, half the cost would still allow you to drive this car all the way from Beijing to Shanghai.

Even a regular gasoline car can only travel 400-600 kilometers on a full tank of gas, while an electric car equipped with a graphene battery can actually travel more than 1500 kilometers.

If you calculate it that way, it's even more awesome than a gasoline-powered car.

After developing this ultra-high energy density battery, his initial desire to make electric motorcycles gradually faded, and now he is focused on making electric cars.

Electric vehicles will inevitably replace gasoline vehicles in the future, as long as the issues of charging speed and battery capacity are resolved. And now, these two issues are directly solved by the battery he has developed.

Furthermore, in his mind, once this battery enters mass production, its impact will be enormous.

Many industries will face upgrades, including batteries, smartphones, mobile devices, and computers; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it will bring about a revolution.

After developing a complete set of equipment for the preparation of graphene, he also reduced the cost of this material from its reputation as "black gold".

What is the main raw material of graphene? As the name suggests, it is graphite.

Within the Kyushu region, graphite reserves are enormous and inexpensive, much like sand, the raw material for silicon wafers.

Although the reserves are not as large as those of sand, we can tell from the pencils we use every day that the reserves are enormous.

Of course, after he developed the equipment for preparing graphene, he also gained the ability to turn lead into gold.

This concludes his research and development journey, but the results he achieved were incredibly impressive.

After developing the battery, the corresponding energy input can also begin to be developed.

The main factor determining charging speed is the battery's input channel, and besides that, what else? That would be voltage and current.

As long as the battery can handle it, increasing the voltage and current input can greatly accelerate the charging rate.

The greater the charging current and the stronger the voltage, the greater the power of the charging station.

There are also challenges to be solved with chargers. During high-rate charging, chargers generate a lot of heat due to their own resistance.

This requires that the charger also use low-loss superconducting materials, or materials that are extremely resistant to high temperatures and have excellent heat dissipation.

Superconducting materials are not yet a field he can access, and even if he could develop them, he wouldn't dare to actually create them in reality.

This required him to start from another aspect, namely materials with good heat dissipation and high temperature resistance, and graphene, which he had just developed, once again became the first choice.

This problem was also solved when graphene was incorporated into the charger.

The two most important factors that determine the future of electric vehicles were solved by the graphene he developed.

As for the remaining two issues, there are only two: the electric motor and the control system.

The control system is not a single function; it is involved in both the charging process and the battery discharge process.

When he finished developing the battery and charger, he also developed the control system for both components.

As for the vehicle's control system, it involves integrating the control systems of all components into a single, complete control system.

This meant that this part was developed simultaneously with all the other components, so his next task was to tackle the motor.

This determines how fast the car can go, how much cargo it can carry, and its main power components.

It can be said that the batteries and chargers developed before were all designed to serve the electric motors that are about to be manufactured.

The manufacturing of this type of motor has also begun to influence the design of the entire vehicle.

Whether a vehicle uses a single-motor, dual-motor, or multi-motor layout determines crucial factors such as motor power and size.

His research and development has become increasingly ambitious, evolving from initially aiming to create an electric motorcycle to later including plans to manufacture electric cars.

Now, the main focus has shifted to electric vehicles, and the electric motorcycles that were once popular are now almost invisible.

For electric vehicles, the positioning this time is still in the mid-to-high-end level. Don't ask why, it's entirely due to the addition of important technologies such as batteries and chargers.

Don't assume that these technologies have become commonplace just because he developed them. It's because he had an unfair advantage that he was able to achieve the results so easily.

Now that the positioning has been determined, the next step is to choose a direction for the vehicle model.

The technology he now possesses will make any car model he produces a bestseller in the market, provided that its appearance isn't too bad.

What he's facing now is the issue of his specific positioning, but of course, it's not an insurmountable choice.

For mid-to-high-end models, there are only a few types: sports cars, SUVs, and most importantly, sedans.

Of course, these aren't the only types; there are also MPVs and light commercial vehicles, but these two types of passenger vehicles are primarily used for converting into motorhomes.

If the price reaches 60 to 80 yuan, and it's still an unmodified, bare-bones car, it definitely won't sell very well.

Therefore, MPVs and light commercial vehicles are eliminated first, making the remaining options easier to choose from.

Sports cars, needless to say, are too high-end and won't sell much. In the sports car market, many models are losing money to gain publicity, and are just a way for car companies to make a living.

Therefore, sports cars were also ruled out, leaving only two types.

Sedans and SUVs undoubtedly need to be mid-to-large-sized vehicles to be considered worthwhile in terms of price.

This significantly narrows down the range of car models to choose from, and electric vehicles inherently cater to young people.

So after considering all the options, only a coupe and a technologically advanced SUV fit his vision.

For a time, only two car models remained. Faced with a choice, he ultimately decided to go for an SUV.

He wants to create an SUV that is technologically advanced, highly playable, and extremely eye-catching in appearance.

And deep in his heart, there was a particularly cool idea, but he would only pursue it after the mass-produced SUV was successfully developed.

What was it? Actually, it was inspiration he got from the cartoons he watched as a child.

Who didn't dream of owning their own high-tech Formula One car when they were little?

Thinking of this, I unconsciously shouted in a somewhat childish tone, "The past is no miracle; the real miracle is about to begin."

I was still imagining myself sitting inside the Super Asurada.

(End of this chapter)