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‘EV is boring, it’s all solved’: Why an Irish battery company is going off-road
Weighing in at around 1.5 tonnes, it is the biggest individual pack on the electric vehicle market, delivering almost 300 kilowatt hours of power. Once fitted into its white metal casing, this €150,000 pack — and six other identical ones, each containing 16,128 individual cells that are a little longer and fatter than AA batteries — is destined for an Australian mine truck. That is just one of the vehicles that Xerotech is supplying as mining, construction and other industries seek to cut their carbon emissions.
It is a niche market, selling “millions of units at best” a year globally, but with strong growth forecast over the coming decade. Xerotech says its battery packs contain an insulating foam that stops fire from spreading and they can be pierced without blowing up. It has also developed battery safety technology for the European Space Agency.