One of the main concerns that the FIA
Formula E is facing is about the batteries, as the current
package developed by Wlliams Advanced Engineering is barely
enough to do half of a race, leading to the car changes for the
moment. According to the series staff, the situation will remain like
this until the fifth season of the all-electric single-seater
championship.
The plans for open powertrain
development started this year, which made the cars a bit faster
compared to the 2014/2015 season, and the next step was to open the
creation of batteries to the manufacturers that compete in Formula E,
expected to occur in the 2016/2017 season. But it seems that the open
battery competition will be delayed to the fifth season, in
2018/2019, with the final goal being making a single car last the
whole race without having to be parked as the juice runs out.
The whole problem lies in the fact
that, even though the power department can progress really fast, the
battery department will be some steps behind, and in the worst case
the car would be fast as hell, but would only last a few laps. The
other problem is that the development of better batteries is
partially halted because of the dimensions of the Spark-Renault
SRT01_E, as the space to pack the battery is simply too tight to
make huge improvements, as there’s no way to see a huge improvement
that would make the Formula E batteries last longer with less weight.
Also, the chassis as it is will remain the only one on track for a
few years in the future, which cuts the immediate possibility of a
change that would open the way for good development.
Another possibility being considered is
wireless charging, as Qualcomm, which one of the series
partners, continues the development of the Halo system, that would
use magnetic induction to transfer energy to the Formula E car
without having to disassemble the battery.
PHOTO: FIA Formula E
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