Nomadic Power receives €2M grant for “MobileBattery” project; trailer-mounted Li-ion pack for vehicle and home
18 June 2015
Nomadic Power has received a €2-million (US$2.25-million) grant from the European Commission for their “MobileBattery” project—a trailer-mounted battery pack that can serve the function of intelligent and safe back-up power for a home when stationary, and boost EV range when attached to the owner’s vehicle. An 85 kWh Nomad is capable of taking a small electric car up to 600 kilometers (373 miles).
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Nomadic Power has developed a simple and efficient solution to extend the range of battery-powered electric vehicles. We see a strong future in electricity-powered mobility and an increasing use of renewable energy, photovoltaic power in particular. Our mobile batteries have great potential in these markets that recently got a significant shot in the arm by Tesla’s announcements.
— Dr. Manfred Baumgaertner, CEO of Nomadic Power
The key elements of Nomadic Power’s technology are the Nomad battery (MES, Mobile Energy System) and the intelligence of the control electronics and software system. The intelligent energy management system (NEM, Nomad Energy Manager) is self-learning, predicting user behavior and energy production capabilities of the photovoltaic system, based on weather forecasts, when connected to the user’s home.
All system components are connected to the Nomadic Power Secure Cloud Platform, a system of virtualized servers at distributed datacenters, interconnected by SSL-Backbone-Encryption. The Nomad Network connects the Secure Cloud Platform to the peripheral components as the MES and NEM. The Nomad Network is operated as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) with a proprietary, secure APN. Nomadic Power Secure Cloud not only connects the smart energy managers in the home and the Nomad, but also allows 4G/LTE access from the user and/or Nomadic Power’s service team for monitoring and control purposes.
Range extension, fast charging options and functions for intelligent energy management of PV systems are incorporated in Nomads—the mobile batteries from Nomadic Power. Nomad capacities range from 40 up to 85 kWh.
Nomadic Power is based in Darmstadt, Germany, with a development center in Stuttgart and a marketing team in Palo Alto, California.
Probably the best model for using these mobile packs would be have a leasing franchise with a network across the country. A mobile pack with 50 kwh capacity would probably cost a minimum of $20,000 today. Customers with limited range BEV's might be willing to pay $20/day + energy or more for a fully charged pack so if the pack can be on the road 200 days per year it might generate $4000 income. In an electricity market with a lot of renewables, the low rental periods may be fall and winter which would coincide with periods for extra storage so during those periods the packs may generate income via arbitrage though most optimistically wouldn't be much better than $4 per day.
In the future when battery prices drop to $150 it might even make sense to tow a battery pack behind a PHEV.
Howabout a cargo trailer with a battery pack and a small traction motor so whenever you need to haul a heavy load you hook up your leaf and your off and your friends with their F150's will never be bothered on the weekends again.
Posted by: Calgarygary | 18 June 2015 at 07:46 AM
I'd like to go further for owners living in apartments. The newest Li-ion batteries have reached 120 whr/pound density. 150 could happen by the end of the decade. We could build a one-ton city car with two removable battery packs that look like wheeled suitcases, each 3 kwh or 20 lbs. I'm looking at 60 w/mile urban consumption, so over 40 miles per pack. Normally the owner would wheel the pack into and out of his apartment, thus leaving the car unstealable when parked. He could alternate charging one pack at home while using the other, or charge up both for a highway trip. With a 110v plug, charging would take 2 hours.
Posted by: Richard Slay | 18 June 2015 at 09:06 AM
Richard, you're a bit on the optimistic side. 60w/mi is too low even for a NEV. Best case in my LEAF at (3500 lb or so with me in it) on a warm day with no a/c on urban streets -- nothing over 45mph -- is a bit over 5 mi/kwh, or slightly less than 200Wh/mi. You won't cut that in half in a one ton machine. Even a light throttle hand on a Zero FX motorcycle (400 lb bike plus rider) "burns" over 70Wh/mi. Plan on at least 125Wh/mi for temperate weather use, over 150-175 if it gets chilly (BTW the LEAF in Midwestern winter is over 300wh/mi, no highways, and me wearing a wool hat).
And on highway trips consumption per mile grows. Basically even in an ultra-sleek sub one ton car, if it has minimum tolerable HVAC, there isn't much use for a battery with less than 15kWh.
Posted by: Herman | 18 June 2015 at 01:06 PM
A single-purpose pod battery is silly. If you're making a trailer with a battery in it, it should be a slab which can support cargo or cargo enclosures on top. Bonus points if the slab-battery is swappable without removing the cargo section.
This has some serious possibilities. Imagine a battery-trailer which supports a pop-up camper covered with PV panels. During decent weather you're totally set for housekeeping power, and charge the vehicle besides.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 18 June 2015 at 01:49 PM
Clever, imaginative ideas. Refreshing. Kudos all.
Posted by: electric-car-insider.com | 18 June 2015 at 03:02 PM
What took them so long? DIYers have been doing this for years.
Posted by: ai_vin | 19 June 2015 at 08:24 AM
It takes a certain size of market to pay for the engineering that turns a concept into a product, and the marketing to sell it.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 21 June 2015 at 09:52 AM
Shades of the old Railroad steam Locomotives, expending a portion of their useable power in towing a Tender full of coal and water. How to make your personal transport more cumbersome and less useful. This is very like an idea often mooted by BEV enthusiasts as a means of overcoming range anxiety: tow a Genset on a trailer.Why not just provide adequate battery space in the vehicle to start with? Hard to see many normally intelligent people going for this trailer.EP is right in that it needs to be useful as a cargo trailer as well. A waste of EC funds supporting it.
Posted by: Peterww | 22 June 2015 at 04:47 AM
It makes your personal transport smaller, lighter and cheaper when don't need the extra range, so that's a plus. The trailer (or its battery) can be shared between a number of vehicles, reducing the total capital cost. The trailer battery can also be upgraded independently of the vehicle.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 22 June 2015 at 07:31 AM