Saft lithium-ion batteries power the cars in the Andros Electric Trophy ice race

“Andros, the inventor and manufacturer of the Andros car, asked me to choose our battery partner for this world first. It was an easy choice because Saft is world leader and the flagship of high technology batteries” said Max Mamers, the Andros Trophy organiser. Each car is powered by a 320 V 24 kWh lithium-ion battery in a 27 module pack made of composite materials, which includes electronics of the battery management system (BMS). The Siemens-built asynchronous motor delivers a maximum of 122 HP and a torque of 200 N.m at constant revs of 5,000 RPMs. The overall electronic management of the competition cars was developed by Segula Technologies Matra and the eight racers themselves were developed and built by Exagon Engineering. “Several months of close technical collaboration with the Saft teams made it possible to build high performance vehicles that were well suited to the Andros Electric Trophy ice race, which is a particularly demanding discipline. Despite the cold and humidity, Saft provided us with products of the utmost quality and security in record time”, says Luc Marchetti, General Manager of Exagon Engineering. During the two first competitions, the cars reached 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than six seconds with potential top speeds of over 160 km/h (100 mph). The power of the Li-ion components supplied by Saft enabled the cars to deliver full power under acceleration, permitting them to equal the skating performance of racing cars with thermal engines. Also, the Saft batteries proved capable of delivering the energy required for the 30 laps of each race with each car only consuming 30 percent of its on-board power during the 10 laps of the final on the Pas de la Case circuit in Andorra.

The Andros Electric Trophy is part of the dynamic technological innovation at the heart of the new challenges the automobile industry is tackling with clean energy vehicles. In urban environments, electric vehicles powered by VL41M Li-ion batteries have the best power-to-energy ratio and can travel distances of up to approximately 200 km (127 miles) without recharging. This technology is produced on an industrial scale and guarantees the life cycle and reliability required by automotive industry players worldwide. Saft has more than twenty years of experience in electric vehicles and electrical drive power is one of the company’s core competencies. The Group has been investing in Li-ion technology for over 15 years, and is world leader in high-performance battery systems for demanding applications.