Though Formula E’s Gen3 cars will likely not arrive until at least 2023, the contract for supply of the cars’ battery has been awarded to Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE), which supplied batteries for the series’ Gen1 cars.
Gen 2, the first cars to do a race distance on a single battery, were equipped with batteries supplied by McLaren Applied Technologies, in partnership with California based Lucid Motors.
Full details of the Gen3 cars are yet to be confirmed, but power output is likely to increase by around 100kW, to 350kW in qualifying trim. The plan currently is for the battery to remain of a similar capacity (c.50kWh), but with a much reduced weight, along with a higher level of energy recovery from the powertrain, greatly increasing overall car efficiency. There is also likely to be the introduction of a mid-race, fast-charge pitstop.
The challenges facing WAE are certainly substantial to meet the above brief, but as Craig Wilson, WAE managing director, put it, “High performance batteries are one of WAE’s core competencies and I am confident we will add further value in the areas of energy density, thermal efficiency, overall performance and reliability.
“Racing in such a competitive environment is also a challenge for batteries, but one that we embrace. We look forward to supporting the series as it moves to its next exciting chapter.”
