Samsung’s New EV Battery And EVs Ideal For Urban Delivery Vehicles

EVs are ideal for commercial vehicles whether we are talking delivery vehicles, police cars, or maintenance vehicles. Samsung just announced a new solid-state EV battery and they are positioning it as primarily for commercial vehicles not only because this is a potentially stronger market, but also because commercial vehicles will fully cycle the battery more frequently which emphasizes the strength of solid-state lithium-ion battery technology.

Why EVs Are Better For Commercial Vehicles

Electric Vehicles are fundamentally different than ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) cars in a lot of ways but, in this case, it is where they are most efficient. ICE vehicles tend to be most efficient at freeway speeds where the engines are geared up to their most efficient level and you can cover the greatest distance with the least amount of gasoline consumed. EVS are opposite to this, the faster they go the less efficient they get this is due partially to the fact that most don’t have transmissions and because they develop torque immediately so the faster the engine spins the more energy is wasted on generating heat, and the faster the vehicle goes the more wind resistance the vehicle gets.

This means EVs are comparatively substantially better than ICE cars in traffic or urban settings where the speeds are limited and EVs burn little energy when stopped while ICE cars either continue to idle or have to be stopped and restarted depending on configuration so their gas mileage can drop significantly when used commercially while EVS range goes up and energy usage goes down when driven slowly and when stropped EVs only use energy for entertainment, electronics, and maintaining cabin temperature. 

Commercial vehicles typically run under 100 miles a shift and can run up to two shifts which are well within the expected range (up to 600 miles depending on battery size and configuration) that these batteries promise.

In addition, you can easily charge EVs overnight using Level 2 chargers which are far easier and safer to install than fueling stations.

Why Solid-State Batteries Are Better For Commercial Vehicles

Solid-State Batteries have one clear advantage and that is longevity as defined by charging cycles. While they are better in all uses, because Commercial Vehicles are likely to have to be fully recharged every work-night but are not used 24 hours a day, they need the resiliency of solid-state technology more than consumer vehicles do. This is good because, initially, due to a lack of availability, solid-state batteries should be more expensive than their more traditional Lithium-Ion counterparts.

And commercial vehicles tend to, because their price is justified by their use, not by their appearance or status (which often defines a consumer vehicle) buyers are more willing to pay more for this resiliency and dependability.

Thus, the technology Samsung is using is better.

Environmental Impact

Another reason EVs can be better commercially is because commercial vehicles are typically refueled or, in this case, recharged at depots controlled by the commercial entity. At depots you can put in solar plants with battery backup that are dedicated to the fleet further reducing fueling/energy costs making the fleet more efficient and justify the cost of the solar plant with that savings.

Granted, the solar plant will need its own batteries because solar panels don’t generate at night and windmills only generate, typically, into the early evening. However, this could be an ideal use for the new Westinghouse eVinci microreactor and that power could be shared with a data center for which these reactors are ideally suited. 

Wrapping Up:

Samsung’s new EV batteries would be ideal for commercial use (and they would be an improvement for consumer use as well) where they would be most highly valued. The result would not only be greener, particularly if they used a green energy source, but also quieter, more reliable, and far less likely to get stuck (that 100% torque from the start is huge when driving snow, sand, or soft soil), and far less likely to result in an exhaust related sickness to those that work on them or operate them. 

In short, this is a major move to make commercial vehicles better for all of us.

Rob Enderle is a technology analyst covering automotive technology and battery developments at Torque News. You can learn more about Rob on Wikipedia, and follow his articles on Forbes, on X, and LinkedIn.