QUANTiNO 01
Carsales Staff3 Mar 2016
NEWS

NanoFlowcell claims EV endurance record

New achievement by QUANTiNO prototype could be a breakthrough for sustainable motoring

High-tech start-up NanoFlowcell is claiming a new record for non-stop travel by an electric vehicle, just a month after its QUANTiNO was granted a licence to be driven on the road.

With company CEO Nunzio La Vecchia at the wheel, the QUANTiNO EV completed an endurance test lasting 14 hours. La Vecchia had a legal adviser along for the ride at a Zurich (Switzerland) test centre, to verify everything was kosher.

After La Vecchia succumbed to fatigue and pulled over, the vehicle's two 159-litre electrolyte tanks were found to retain 78 per cent of capacity. The vehicle was driven at an average speed of 74km/h in a test cycle said to emulate the NEDC city cycle.

To achieve its remarkable range (and performance – a claimed 0-100km/h time of under five seconds), the QUANTiNO employs flow cell technology, but the company has been understandably reluctant to reveal much about its intellectual property, which is believed to use nanotechnology to draw electrical current from electrolyte fluids that can be discharged and replenished at a conventional refuelling station converted to that role.

According to NanoFlowcell, the technology not only lends itself to existing refuelling infrastructure, it would be cheaper and more sustainable than developing technologies such as battery/electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles. Most importantly, for consumers, refilling cars using the technology would be considerably faster than even the fastest of current battery chargers. And the electrolyte fluids can be recycled and are not flammable.

"The car could have gone further, but unlike the nanoFlowcell, I have my limits," said La Vecchia.

"We are proud that we have been able to prove the performance potential of the QUANTiNO not just under laboratory conditions, but also in an everyday situation. This test drive demonstrates that our nanoFlowcell technology offers a concrete, long-term alternative for meeting the demand for alternative fuels. nanoFlowcell AG is paving the way for clean and safe mobility in the coming decades."

La Vecchia hints that the technology is being developed to license to existing vehicle manufacturers, rather than NanoFlowcell going into business for itself as a manufacturer.

“What we are showing in Geneva is a feasible and concrete route to achieving sustainable, clean and safe mobility in the future. And we are open to taking that route with strong partners from the automotive industry,” he was quoted saying in a press release.

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