With the deal, VinFast shows it is learning from Tesla as it attempts to pursue the most fundamental technology in electric vehicles: battery technology.
Recently, VinFast entered into a licensing agreement for a technology patent with its partner ProLogium on the production of semiconductor batteries for electric cars in Vietnam. With this agreement, VinFast can access one of the most important technologies for its autonomy efforts in electric car technology: battery technology.
Even though electric cars still appeared before fossil fuel vehicles, there is a reason why, until now, electric cars still have a tiny share of the market compared to fossil fuel vehicles: cause of the energy density of an electric car battery.
Why is the electric car losing its position against fossil fuel vehicles?
Low energy density and short driving distances are a factor that puts electric vehicles behind fossil fuel vehicles
Compared to fossil fuels, the energy density of batteries is significantly lower, especially per unit of weight. Lower energy density also means that for the same unit of weight, the energy produced by the battery is significantly less than that of fossil fuels. This has also resulted in a shorter range of electric vehicles, and more inconvenient than those using fossil fuels. This is why, even though fossil fuel vehicles have more complex engines and arrive later, they will eventually beat electric cars to take over the world.
Even now, when electric vehicles can incorporate many technologies superior to fossil fuel vehicles, such as the ability to drive completely autonomously as well as less noise and being environmentally friendly, the range of activities is still there. one of the factors that make users reluctant to find electric cars.
In other words, battery technology in electric vehicles is the basic technology for success in this field.
But improving the energy density of electric car batteries is not easy. For many years, the basic compounds that make up the batteries of electric cars have hardly changed, making it difficult to drastically change the density of the battery. The main improvements are in the design of the battery pack, aimed at providing higher battery density.
Learn from the most successful
Tesla is always striving to be at the forefront of increasing the energy density of electric car batteries, a factor that is helping it become the leader in the electric vehicle world today.
One of the leaders in meeting this challenge is none other than Tesla, who pioneered the design of new electric vehicle batteries that deliver higher energy density for each battery. It is battery technology, not self-driving or other features, that has helped Tesla become the world’s leading manufacturer of electric vehicles.
With the recent agreement with its partner ProLogium, VinFast seeks to repeat the same path as Tesla. This agreement helps VinFast gain access to ProLogium’s MAB solid-state battery packaging technology – a technology that can help the energy density of car batteries reach a significant milestone.
This technology was announced by ProLogium at the CES conference in 2019 and 2020, allowing battery cells to connect directly to each other without using wires, thus significantly saving space in each battery pack, helping to create battery packs with higher energy density. As announced by ProLogium, this technology increases the energy density of the battery pack from 29% to 56.5%. It also greatly increases the operating distance of electric cars using this technology.
ProLogium is one of the leaders in the commercialization of solid-state batteries
The cooperation agreement with ProLogium also allows VinFast to inherit this superior battery and equip its vehicle. More specifically, the agreement also allows VinFast to manufacture this type of battery itself in Vietnam, guaranteeing autonomy in the basic technology of electric vehicles.
Not only will VinFast electric cars benefit from this deal, but in the short term it is possible that electric motorcycles themselves will benefit from this technology. While VinFast’s electric cars are in an embryonic stage, electric scooters have come into the hands of users and have been popular for many years. The new battery technology will help VinFast to differentiate itself from other electric motorcycles and even conventional gasoline motorcycles.
Clearly, the lessons of Tesla’s success show VinFast the steps needed to gain a foothold in the electric vehicle industry. Currently, VinFast is also building a system of charging stations across the country, with the aim of having more than 40,000 charging ports for electric motorcycles and electric cars by the end of the year.
