Electric Vehicle Performance Chips Are They Worth the Hype

Solid-state batteries: inside the race to transform the science of electric vehicles

Working in the dry room at Deakin Universitys Battery Research and Innovation Hub is no day at the beach.

[Its] more desert than beach, says its general manager, Dr Timothy Khoo. At the beach, you at least still get the moisture coming in.

The 150m² dry room is, as far as Khoo knows, the largest in Australia for research purposes and essential to work prototyping and testing the next generation of batteries.

Its very difficult working in there for extended periods, Khoo says. Its not dangerous but your eyes starting getting dry, your skin starts getting dry and it feels like youve been outside in the sun all summer.

The room must be dry because water, moisture and humidity is lethal to a battery during production. Contamination, Khoo says, means it might not work or its performance will be compromised.

Depending on the materials, the worst-case scenario can also be dangerous.

Lithium reacts poorly with water, Khoo says. I dont know if you ever did high school science but its in the same sort of chemical category as sodium, potassium if youve ever thrown sodium into water, it explodes. Its a similar reaction in the context of lithium metal.

The centre is doing a brisk business, as companies race to develop the next generation of battery technology.

Most will be familiar with the lithium-ion battery, first commercialised by Sony in the 1990s to power its portable music players. From these humble beginnings, the rechargeable lithium-ion battery is now king, powering mobile phones, laptops and in their most high-performance application electric cars.

One McKinsey analysis suggests the global lithium-ion battery market will grow into a $400bn industry by 2030. But with lithium-ion technology well-understood, those seeking transformative change are increasingly looking to solid-state batteries.

Hype and hope

Dr Rory McNulty, a senior analyst with Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, says the hype around solid-state batteries has been building since the first commercial solid-state battery was introduced by French company Blue Solutions in 2015.

Their battery was designed for use in e-buses but had design limitations and a charging time of four or more hours an illustration of how difficult the development process can be, even for a company such as Toyota.

Last July, the global car giant announced a breakthrough in the development of solid-state batteries that it claimed would halve the size, weight and cost of their manufacture.

This was greeted with both excitement and scepticism, owing in part to Toyota having poured money into the development of solid-state batteries since 2006 and reluctance to commit to producing fully electric vehicles over the past decade.

This development was soon followed by another in October: Toyota and Japanese petroleum company Idemitsu said they were aiming to develop and manufacture a solid-state electrolyte and bring it to market by 2028.

Toyota isnt the only company working in the area. In January, Volkswagen announced successful testing on a solid-state battery developed by QuantumScape achieved more than 1,000 charging cycles and maintained 95% of its capacity.

Meanwhile, Chinese companies such as WeLion and Nio EV have partnered to rush out a solid-state battery albeit one with less ambitious chemistry by 2024 but McNulty says those in western countries will have to wait until the end of the decade.

Toyota has pushed back its solid-state delivery timeline a few times over the years, which I think is a testament to how difficult some of the technical challenges that underpin development of a novel technology can be, he says.

Battery mechanics

The basic promise of solid-state batteries is more energy generated by a smaller battery. Efforts to develop the technology have taken several approaches but Khoo says much public attention is focused on two materials: silicon and lithium-metal.

Silicon-based anodes, theyre a little more advanced in terms of their technological readiness than the lithium-metal type batteries, he says. Purely from a scientific or engineering perspective, I believe lithium-metal batteries are a little more revolutionary.

That is, if people can get them to work.

Broadly speaking, there are three components that make a battery: a cathode, an anode and an electrolyte. From a scientific or engineering perspective, Khoo says, the anode, commonly known as the negative side of a battery, releases electrons into a circuit; the positive side, the cathode, receives the incoming electrons. The electrolyte allows ions to transfer between them.

The interaction of these components gives a battery its energy density the amount of energy it can hold, relative to its weight. Higher density batteries hold more charge, which makes them suited to things like electric cars.

Unlike current lithium-ion batteries, which use a graphite-silicon anode with a liquid electrolyte, solid-state batteries as the name implies swap the liquid for a solid material.

This creates a safer battery as there is no risk the liquid will leak if the casing is punctured, as in a car accident, and the chance of lithium fires is reduced. More importantly for EV drivers, it promises vastly improved range.

But for all the hype, the development of the solid-state batteries is being held back by the anode.

Dendrites and development

Of the several variations out there, lithium-metal anode solid-state batteries have received significant attention as a potential high-performance future battery technology.

The catch? Developing them has run into a problem known as dendrites.

Dendrites form when lithium-ions plate on to the pure metal anode, leaving tiny spurs on the surface.

Lee Finniear, the chief executive of Li-S Energy and a founding director of the Advanced Materials and Battery Council, says that as these imperfections grow over time they act like the high-point on a building in a major city during a lightning strike.

The lithium-ions are trying to find the shortest path to the anode, he says. If you get any variation or any kind of high point on the anode, it will tend to attract more ions, which will then plate as lithium, increasing the high point.

Depending how big these dendrites grow, they can pierce the material separating the anode from the cathode and cause a short-circuit.

And that kills the battery, he says.

There are other challenges too but solving these problem can be difficult and expensive which is why others have preferred to work with silicon-anodes, which rely on a similar material to that used in photovoltaic solar panels.

As it can be highly conductive, it is thought the more silicon thats used in an anode, the more its performance will improve.

Silicon anodes act like a sponge soaking up water, expanding and contracting with each charge cycle. Adding more silicon increases how much the anode expands and a pure silicon anode can expand up to four times its size.

Without intervention, the anode will eventually pulverise itself.

One fix involves structuring the silicon in a special way, another is to find additives to change its behaviour.

It is possible to solve these problems but making these batteries commercially available for use in EVs remains difficult.

As future technologies, manufacturing lines will have to be rebuilt and supply chain issues resolved, particularly as there is no one currently producing enough pure lithium-metal foil to supply car battery manufacturers.

Any breakthrough that addresses these problems and brings down the cost of production for solid-state batteries would be revolutionary but Toyota has so far been coy about the materials it is working with in its anodes.

When asked, a Toyota Australia spokesperson said they could not disclose this as research and development is being undertaken by its parent company.

Whatever the case, industry figures privately say it is best to simply assume the company is pursuing everything.

People forget that were talking about science here, Finniear says. Were talking abut persuading electrons and ions and chemicals to do what theyre told; its not software development, its not something you can program your way through.

These breakthroughs are really important but they take a lot of work.

Do Performance Chips Work? Are They Worth It?

Everybodys dream is to have a fast and powerful car that you can ride on empty countryside roads. However, today is also important to find effective ways to increase the mileage and energy use of our cars. While it is great to own a high-performance power, many buyers feel the need for a good balance between speed and efficiency.

But are performance chips really the answer to these questions? They are easily available and they can be mounted by anyone, but today there is a different point of view on whether they work or they only decrease the stability and future value of your car.

Lets have a look at what performance chips are, how they work, and if they are really worth mounting in your brand new car!

What Is a Performance Chip?

Modern cars are controlled by a chip installed by the manufacturer to increase gas mileage and car efficiency. They ensure that the CO2 emissions created by the model meet the government standards. This makes the car safe to drive and valuable.

However, the chips installed by a manufacturer limit the speed and horsepower of the car. This is the way the chips are able to maintain the cars constant efficiency. By cutting some of the power that goes through the engine, your car will be stable, but slower.

Performance chips are also called tuning chips or Super-chips. They can be found in stores or online and mounted within the bonnet of your car. Their main use is to alternate speed and power parameters in order for your car to be more responsive and fast. They work by increasing the power and fuel to the engine and ultimately increase the cars horsepower. However, this limits the miles you will be able to drive with the same amount of fuel.

The chip is inserted under the bonnet of thecar, replacing the standard car company model.

They override the company program to give youmore power, torque or engine power.

Do Performance Chips Really Work?

Depending on the quality of the chip you have decided to buy, you will have different performance. Some chips are created to increase horsepower, while others to increase mileage.

While there is an increasing variety on the market, there is also a debate on whether they actually work and what is the damage that your car will suffer if you decide to install one. Having a basic understanding of the pros and cons of these mechanisms can help you decide whether this is the right choice for you.

Here we will have a look at the main factors that can influence the decision of installing one into your car.

Why Do You Want to Use a Performance Chip?

Historically, Super-chips was used to tune up cars and increase their power and speed. They can also increase the accelerator reaction, allowing you to reach faster speeds in less time. These computers also have the power to control the fuel-to-air ratio and turbo boost. Some manufacturers claim that their chips can help you increase your engines power by 35 horsepower and more. This should also happen in both gas and diesel motors.

However, today these chips are also used to increase the stability of cars and lower the power that goes to the engine. This is often preferred as it allows drivers to increase the mileage and the efficiency of their vehicles. Products such as Innovative Performance Chip are computer-controlled chips that claim to increase +5 MPG in fuel mileage, as well as horsepower and safety of your car.

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Installation and Cost

If you are an expert, these chips can be installed in less than 15 minutes and require almost no tools. If you need guidance, YouTube tutorials can help you fix your car with a Superchip in minutes. They can be installed easily by removing a cover under your bonnet and replacing the existing chip with a new one.

You will then be able to adjust the parameters through an easy-to-use computer. Some chips can cost up to $600 while, for the drivers on a budget, some can be found for $300. Online it is possible to buy chips for $20 or $15, but they are often known to lower the efficiency and safety of your car. In this case, it is recommended to buy a chip that is made for your specific car model and can be removed easily.

The Pros of Using a Performance Chip

The pros of using performance chips are many,and any driver is installing one for different reasons. Here are the mostcommon benefits of swapping your cars chips with a Super-chip.

Increased Speed and Power

The Superchips reprograms your engine to eliminate all the limitations to its performance. You will notice your motor to be boosted and it is recommended to perform a test drive before and after swapping the chips. In specific car models, it is recommended to change the chip as they are more prone to these changes.

Increased Acceleration

Superchips are designed to increase your maximum speed limit, but not only that. By installing a super-chip you will notice a change in the acceleration process of your car. You will be able to achieve faster speed in less time. This sudden responsiveness can be overwhelming at first, but once you are used to it, you will be able to notice improvements in your driving experience. This happens as the chips also control ignition, transmission, and stabilisation systems of the car.

The Cons of Using a Performance Chip

Chips Will Void Your Warranty and Increase Insurance

Since you have modified your cars systems, the warranty that was provided with the vehicle will no longer apply. This is one of the main downsides of applying a performance chip as, if your car is new or represented a major investment for you, you might be in danger of losing your capital.

Moreover, a car that can now go faster, that has more power and acceleration will require a higher insurance premium. This is something that any driver should be taken into consideration, especially in regard to a new car. Insurance can already be representing a high cost, which can be increased by the new chip and add up to the cost of the car and the chip itself.

Increased Fuel Consumption

Due to eliminating fuel restrictions, installing a performance chip will increase your cars fuel consumption. This can represent a high investment for anybody that is using his car continuously or to commute. While some of the most modern chips claim to be able to increase fuel performance, this will show limitations on the power.

While some users have found that it does, in fact, lowers mileage, the car is reported to feel unstable and unbalanced. This can damage your driving experience.

See also: Does the Muffler Affect the Fuel Consumption of Your Car?

Increased Fuel Emissions

Decreasing fuel emissions should be in anydrivers ultimate aim. The damage created by cars over the past years has beencarrying on, and it has developed today into a global emergency. By applying aperformance chip to your car, you will not be able to control the CO2 emissionscreated by your vehicle.

While this is potentially the most dangerous downside of applying a performance chip, you could also be denied access in a number of areas. An increasing number of city centres and restricted areas only allow low- emission vehicles to enter. If you are away from such areas and not planning to enter any main city in your car, it should not be a problem. However, this is something that any driver willing to modify their car should keep in mind.

Performance Chips Could Have an Effect on Your Car

Aside from creating a completely differentdriving experience that you were used to, chips might be damaging your car ifnot inserted properly. While if installed correctly, they could yieldincredible performances, this is something to keep in mind when applying aSuperchip.

In fact, if you have decided to swap your manufacturers chip for a new one on a brand new car, this could decrease the lifespan of your engine. Moreover, the car could feel highly unbalanced with time, as the new chip might not be calibrated specifically for that model.

Oppositely, if you are just tuning your old car,this could be a fun way to see it going faster than ever! In this case, youshould not worry about the vehicles lifespan butbear in mind that it could be even more difficult to drive.

The Verdict

Applying a tuning chip to your car is an important decision, and any driver should research in depth the benefits and damages of applying one.

While it could be anybodys dream to have a fast and booming car, such a vehicle might not be convenient to be driven within city centres of long trips. Moreover, while the chip itself can be fairly cheap, there are a number of associated costs that you should be aware of before committing.

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