Firefly Truck Battery to be Available for Evaluation in First Quarter 2008

Per press release:

Firefly Energy Inc. the Peoria, Illinois based leader in developing next generation carbon and graphite foam batteries, announced today that the first preproduction versions of its BCI Group 31 truck battery – to be marketed under the new name “Oasis” – will be available for review and testing during the first quarter of 2008.

The company said its Oasis battery will primarily be utilized when the truck’s diesel engine is turned off, and provide up to 50 percent longer runtimes than competitors when powering accessories which collectively make up a truck’s “hotel loads.” This newly branded battery will be unveiled by Firefly Energy at its first ever tradeshow appearance at the SAE Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress and Exhibition (ComVec), Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2007, in Rosemont, IL.

“Antidiesel engine idling regulations will soon become pervasive across the nation, and better battery performance will be crucial in contributing to trucker safety, comfort, and productivity,” said Ed Williams, chief executive officer of Firefly Energy. “Our Oasis battery will help ensure truck drivers maintain a comfortable haven for their rest periods”

Earlier this month, Firefly Energy announced the commencement of its BCI Group 31 battery development program, previous post.  . . .

Initial availability of the battery will be in the summer of 2008, with full production of the Oasis battery scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2008. Through its development program, Firefly Energy is responding to trucking related regulations soon taking effect in the State of California and across the nation. On January 1, 2008, diesel trucks operating in California face a five minute idling limit. Traditional batteries will now be challenged by the severe strain of trying to support a trucker’s various hotel loads (air conditioning, TVs, etc.) which were previously powered by diesel engine idling. The result will be premature battery failure, since traditional lead acid batteries cannot easily withstand repeated deep discharging.

Firefly Energy’s Oasis battery will have a sealed valve regulated design. The primary characteristic of the first Firefly Energy lead acid battery is the inclusion of a high surface area, noncorrodible and light weight carbon foam material. Firefly Energy’s 3D carbon foam unleashes the high power potential of lead acid chemistry which was impossible to achieve in the past. This technology not only reduces the lead content making the batteries smaller and lighter, but additionally enables faster, deeper and more reliable discharges and recharges. This significantly extends the battery’s life, makes it more environmentally friendly, and less expensive than lithium and nickel battery chemistries.  . . .

When tested in cold weather extremes at minus 20°C, the batteries were capable of delivering above 65 percent of their rated “room temperature” capacity compared to 20 percent or less for standard Group 31 batteries. This can help minimize alternator damage incurred while attempting coldweather engine starts when batteries are low.

Additional characteristics of the Oasis battery include:

• Energy Density – Because the Firefly design utilizes an efficient highsurface area foam, more of the available chemistry can be engaged, leading to greater efficiencies in weight and size.
• Heat dissipation – Batteries with carbon foam electrodes instead of heavy lead plates are able to transfer heat out of the battery as rapidly as it is generated. Operating heat of the battery is lower, is also generated more uniformly, and is dissipated more rapidly, resulting in longer battery life in many applications.
• Vibration resistance – The low mass of Firefly’s 3D cells along with the better retention of the chemistry within the pores of the foam help make the Oasis battery more resistant to vibration.

Firefly Energy is a Peoria, Illinois based battery technology company developing a portfolio of next generation lead acid battery technologies. Firefly’s first innovation, the carbon foam based battery technology, can deliver a unique combination of high performance, extremely low weight and low cost, all in a battery which utilizes the best aspects of lead acid chemistry while overcoming the corrosive drawbacks of this same chemistry. This product technology delivers to battery markets a performance associated with advanced battery chemistries (Nickel Metal Hydride and Lithium), but for one fifth the cost, and can be both manufactured as well as recycled within the existing lead acid battery industry’s vast infrastructure.

Comments

[Ken]

I wonder if this kind of improvement to lead-acid batteries would have occurred without the competition presented by NiCad, Vanadium Redox, SulphurSodium, NiMetalHydride, LithiumIon etc? The reality has been that Lead-Acid has little changed since the turn of last century - heavy, toxic, foul-fume belching dinosaurs. The main "improvement" over most of that time was changing from something that could be pulled apart and refurbished to something that get's tossed once a single cell starts to fail. They are big recyclers though. One positive I suppose.

[Paul H.]

Come to the New China and have a great time, blah blah blah, Oh ya, this is a battery comment area! Um. How many cycles for these Lead Acid batteries? What sort of energy density? Any specifics? Also, it is interesting that there was no serious effort on the battery front until laptops and cell phones and other high drain devices started taking over, and now there is innovation everywhere. The science will allow for pure electric vehicles in a few years, if only there is the political will.

[Ed Ring]

So how many watt-hours per kilogram are we talking about? How many deep cycles? How much do they cost?

[mjtimber]

Rather disappointing, actually. The "brochure" on their website indicates about 50% more cycle life, far from the order of magnitude projections they have advertised. It does advertise 45% greater volume per liter, but doesn't provide an actual number. 45% greater than what? A standard lead-acid? The best on the market? It would be nice if they provided a little more information (and the spec sheet that the brochure mentions).
http://www.fireflyenergy.com/images/stories/pdfs/FFE-27Grp31BatteryBro10%5B1%5D.25.07_FINAL.pdf

[averagejoe]

From what I've read, the 3D cell design that this battery uses seems to be a compromise between cost and performance. I'm guessing that they wanted to develop manufacturing capacity and get some revenue coming in as quickly as possible. According to Firefly's website, a more advanced version is forthcoming:

"Firefly is preparing to launch its carbon-graphite foam grid technology in two phases. In the first stage, dubbed “3D”, the new grid material replaces the conventional negative plate in the battery. This results in some weight reduction (in the area of 15 – 20% for slow discharge single batteries; up to 50% for fast discharge battery pack applications), and a battery that is highly resistant to the effects of sulfation. The second phase of implementing the technology, called “3D2“, replaces both the negative and positive plates within a battery with the new carbon-graphite foam grid material. This can result in weight reduction of up to 50% and a battery that is almost impervious to the effects of both sulfation and corrosion, along with many other advantages. For a detailed description on these two modes of implementation, visit the “Firefly Technology” area of the website."

http://www.fireflyenergy.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=94&Itemid=88

From the scant data that I've found, the 3D version appears to retain about 90% capacity at the 600 cycle mark, maybe farther (1000 cycles?). As yet, I have no clue how the more advanced 3D2 version will perform.

[mjtimber]

Sorry, 45% more energy density per liter. Better make sure I get my units right next time I get snippy.

[mjtimber]

averagejoe,
That was the battery life I was hoping for, but the data released today indicated a 50% increase (~300 deep cycle charges). I hope the 3D turns out much better, but I'm a little leery with all the numbers that go flying around without any backing (EEStor, anyone?).

[averagejoe]

Okay, I finished wading through the "white paper" pdf file on Firefly's website. It looks like the holdup for the 3D2 version involves optimizing the chemistry of the positive plates:

"Conversion of the conventional positive plate to a foam electrode eliminates positive grid growth and corrosion, but it also introduces a different set of challenges. Various foams used in the positive plate are affected to varying degrees when exposed to extreme
overcharge conditions."

"Firefly is actively refining and stabilizing foam chemistry as well as increasing the robustness of the foams used in positive plates through manipulation of combinations of both foam chemistry and processing, as well as methods of plate preparation. At present, these chemistries and methods are tradesecret intellectual property, for which Firefly is actively pursuing additional patent protection."

http://www.fireflyenergy.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=201&Itemid=96

[averagejoe]

mjtimber, you could be right. I'm just making a semi-educated guess based on the following news blurb:

"Mil Ovan, senior vice president and cofounder of Firefly Energy, said “Conventional deepcycle lead acid batteries used in truck starting show sizeable performance dropoff after some 200 deep discharge cycles.” He noted the Firefly Energy battery will deliver greater
reliability and longer service life because it is capable of achieving more than triple the deep cycles while still maintaining over 90 percent of its initial capacity. “In trucking, this means our battery can be expected to last three to five times longer than the best performing valve regulated lead acid batteries..."

http://www.electricdrive.org/index.php?tg=articles&idx=More&topics=75&article=1614

600-1000 cycles is just my best guess at this time. I'm still looking for the spec sheet mentioned in the Firefly brochure.

[mjtimber]

I don't think they have it up yet, but here's hoping for the best! The white paper did seem to indicate a much higher cycle life, hence my disappointment with this most recent press release.

[averagejoe]

Yeah, I saw that chart too. The depth of discharge has a pretty radical effect on cycle life. At a 60% discharge level, the chart shows about 6000 cycles until failure. At an 80% discharge, it looks like 5000 cycles until failure. The chart doesn't mention what constitutes "failure". It also doesn't show actual percent of capacity retained vs. the number of charge cycles, so I have no idea how long the battery would remain serviceable for day to day use. I suspect the 3D type batteries would have a longer service life in a PHEV application, but that's just a guess until I find the spec sheet. It should be interesting to see which version Firefly uses in its first PHEV application, the 3D or 3D2.

[mjtimber]

OK, the spec sheet for the Firefly has a December 1 release date, so we will have to wait a month. Depth of discharge usually has a pretty substantial affect (some off grid house have batteries that, shallowly cycled, last for 15 years). My concern was from the brochure, while says >50% longer cycle life. Well, 50% more than 200 is only 300 cycles. I hope the 5000 cycle number is closer to the truth.

[averagejoe]

Arrgg... well, I guess I can wait a month. Funny that you should mention off grid applications. If these Firefly truck batteries are cheap enough, they may become the battery of choice for off grid applications. Even for people with grid power, a generator-battery combo unit might come in handy during power outages (hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.).

[lory battery]

Rather disappointing, actually. The "brochure" on their website indicates about 50% more cycle life, far from the order of magnitude projections they have advertised. It does advertise 45% greater volume per liter, but doesn't provide an actual number. 45% greater than what? A standard lead-acid? The best on the market? It would be nice if they provided a little more information (and the spec sheet that the brochure mentions).

[trucking software]

Well, i am loking forwards to it. Hope to see a new friefly batteires anytime soon. Btw can i get any more sepc of them for now

[Owner Operator Trucking Software]

So how much of technically easy is that new powersavre batteirs. I have found that these going green things arent much qulity and degrade on longer term

[john price]

If I were you I would try to hurry production of your product or EEstor's supercapacitor might beat you to the punch. However, depending on the cost your product still might be a valid alternative.

[crystal]

well, Hope to see a new friefly batteires

[Rick L.]

Firefly truck batteries sound sweet. If they are as great as advertised it will be a big boost for trucks to run on these batteries. Tight. Thanks a bunch, Rick Lanese

[4A Replacement Battery Battery for Cingular 852]

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[1400mAh BATTERY]

Thanks. Your site is great and informative too.

[Jhon]

I read over your blog, and i found it inquisitive, you may also try
Trucks Suppliers Network for more information.

Regards
Jhon

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