[MitchJi]

Hi,

Anyone have any experience with K2 Energy Solutions Li-Ion battery packs?
http://www.peakbattery.com/index.html
Welcome to K2 Energy Solutions, Inc.
* We engineer, design and fabricate rechargeable batteries and battery systems.
* Our speciality is rechargeable Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries.
* We also manufacture and sell Li ion, Li Polymer, NiMH, NiCd, and Alkaline batteries. Click on our "Products" link to go to our e-commerce site.
* Our energy solutions compliment environmentally friendly technologies (green energy and renewable energy).
* Our LFP chemistry is ideal for Electric Vehicle and other mobile power applications

Safer Batteries
Our rechargeable Lithium ion batteries and packs are powered by Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP). These batteries have high cycle life, handle rapid charging well, and are very stable (unlike common Lithium ion chemistries - i.e. recent laptop battery recalls). The characteristics of our LFP batteries make them ideal for both portable and large format applications.

They are used in the Ronaele Mustang 300E Electric Musclecars
http://www.greencar.com/features/ronaele/
With 1000 lbs-ft of torque available from 0 rpm, the 300E can accelerate from 0-60 mph in under four seconds. Top speed is 130 mph and, driven conservatively, the range is said to be 100-125 miles. Charging is done via a plug where the fuel filter once resided and takes 3 Ω hours at 220 volts or 8 hours at 110 volts.

Mitch

[champy]

Hi Mitch,
I actually know the guys at K2 Energy and I have to say that they're one of the most impressive companies I've ever dealt with. I can't tell you an awful lot about their stuff, since I can't afford it for one thing, and I told them specifically that I wouldn't pass on some of the stuff they've shown me, but I can definitely tell you that their quality of construction on their EV cells is very good and that their performance and pricing are on par with, or better than, any of the other manufacturers. I was actually down visiting them yesterday and I was completely blown away. They also do a lot of testing and quality control on anything that goes out their door to make sure you don't pay for a faulty, short-lived cell. I'm pretty sure they will also deal directly with individuals unlike a couple of the other LFP-makers. If you're really curious, I'd just give them a call. They're nice guys and willing to talk to people, so it might be worth your dime.

In the interest of full disclosure: I am not an employee of K2, I never have been, and they didn't ask me to talk them up. I really am that excited about their stuff.

[DIYguy]

Originally Posted by champy

Hi Mitch,
I actually know the guys at K2 Energy and I have to say that they're one of the most impressive companies I've ever dealt with. I can't tell you an awful lot about their stuff, since I can't afford it for one thing, and I told them specifically that I wouldn't pass on some of the stuff they've shown me, but I can definitely tell you that their quality of construction on their EV cells is very good and that their performance and pricing are on par with, or better than, any of the other manufacturers. I was actually down visiting them yesterday and I was completely blown away. They also do a lot of testing and quality control on anything that goes out their door to make sure you don't pay for a faulty, short-lived cell. I'm pretty sure they will also deal directly with individuals unlike a couple of the other LFP-makers. If you're really curious, I'd just give them a call. They're nice guys and willing to talk to people, so it might be worth your dime.

In the interest of full disclosure: I am not an employee of K2, I never have been, and they didn't ask me to talk them up. I really am that excited about their stuff.

It's nice to see a north american supplier. What is the pricing at then... per watt hour? Did you get a quote?

[ElectriCar]

Your link didn't work for me. I'm listening though...

[ZEVUtah]

The price on the cells looks a bit steep*for my budget.

http://store.peakbattery.com/lfp200es-128v-16ah.html

12.8 volts and 16 ah is about 204 watt hr and a price of 249 dollars = ouch

KJD

[frodus]

its much lower if you call them. Its all about quantity, and for 10kwh, you'd need 1000 cells, and I think at that many cells they can get it even lower.

From this website:
http://www.zeva.com.au/tech/K2/
"Pricing shown is for individual cells. Pricing in quantity of 1000 cells is around 60% of the single cell price, and may be slightly less in EV quantities of 2000-4000."

[rctous]

we use and have used many of their cells and they are a pretty darn good cell. Not quite at a price that I can afford for my e-car. We tested tem head to head with the A123 cells and I will post a graph here in a minute. They perform nearly as well but not quite. I would not hesitate to get them if I had the money. Not sure well how well the graph will post but I will try it.

Brian

[rctous]

here is the discharge curves ( ignore the part where it says it was a lead acid battery that is just for reference )

Brian

[rctous]

its a 10 amp 20 amp and a 30 amp discharge for a single 3.2 volt cell. It was the same cell used in a the test. (1- A123 and 1- K2)

Brian

[champy]

They also make EV-oriented "cells" that are roughly the same form-factor as the ThunderSky or China HiPower 3.2v 100ah stuff. If you go to their website:
http://www.peakbattery.com
then the EV cells are the green ones pictured on the front page. Those are rated 90ah and 3.2v each and they're the ones I was so impressed with when I was down there. I believe they sell for about $200 a pop. One of the things that impressed me most was that when they were showing me their performance graphs, they were very up-front in acknowledging when a competitor's battery (such as A123's mentioned above) had the edge on some part of the performance rating. However, they were also able to demonstrate to my personal satisfaction that, at least with regard to their EV batteries, the chemistry had been deliberately formulated to make those trade-offs in order to perform at a better level in an EV-specific High-current application. I believe that, at the currents most EV's demand from the batteries, K2's stuff would probably outperform competing cells. Again, this would probably be something they could clarify for you better than I could. I'm starting to sound like an advertisement here. At the same time though, I don't hear their name out there much, and I really think that the EV community could benefit a LOT from their stuff. If their quality control is as good as what it looked like to me last week, then I think buyers will be saving money by not having to count on a couple of faulty batteries in their order.