Look Inside Kona Electric Battery And See Real Capacity

Vid.beatific said:
I just opened a kona battery - it consists of 98 modules 180Ah (every module = 3x 60Ah cell LGY E63B - 3.63V nominal and 218Wh).
View attachment 10995View attachment 10996
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So the real capacity is: 3.63V (nominal) x 180Ah (3x60Ah) x 98 (cell no) = 64kWh not 67kWh as specified on :

https://ev-database.org/car/1204/Hyundai-Kona-Electric-64-kWh#charging

Probably the usable capacity is 62kWh!
Click to expand...
That's pretty neat! You wouldn't happen to have made a video about the process of removing it and opening it up, have you?
 
Vid.beatific said:
I just opened a kona battery - it consists of 98 modules 180Ah (every module = 3x 60Ah cell LGY E63B - 3.63V nominal and 218Wh).
View attachment 10995View attachment 10996
View attachment 10997

So the real capacity is: 3.63V (nominal) x 180Ah (3x60Ah) x 98 (cell no) = 64kWh not 67kWh as specified on :

https://ev-database.org/car/1204/Hyundai-Kona-Electric-64-kWh#charging

Probably the usable capacity is 62kWh!




Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Click to expand...
Nice opening post! Thanks for the pictures. Are you working on a project?
The nominal voltage is 3.63V, however the normal operating (charge/discharge) is from 2.5 to 4.2 V as shown by the specifications shown here:
https://insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/lg-chem-lg-e63-cell-discussion.9783/
the capacity @ the higher 4.2 V will increase accordingly, although you don't want to keep it there for a long duration.
Probably best to store @ the rated 3.63 nominal voltage which translates to ~ 86% SOC.
 
Vid.beatific said:
next time we will film.

we open dozens of such batteries (vw, jag, polestar, tesla, bolt, ioniq, etc) and give them another life in photovoltaic systems.

View attachment 10998

3s kona cell test:
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Kona bat pictures:
View attachment 11001View attachment 11002
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Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Click to expand...
Oh, that very interesting. Stationary storage for solar is a great use of batteries from crashed/retired vehicles.

I think a video might help you get the word out about your business, and we may be able to write about it on InsideEVs news site. Of course, Kona Electric owners here will no doubt be curious about the inside of their battery packs. I'm especially interested in the different approaches to temperature management -- the way they route liquid through the packs.

Thanks for these pics. Great stuff!
 
Vid.beatific said:
... not 67kWh as specified on :
https://ev-database.org/car/1204/Hyundai-Kona-Electric-64-kWh#charging
Click to expand...
I emailed that site 2 years ago and asked them where they got the 67 number from. They told me that they "guessed".
electriceddy said:
... The nominal voltage is 3.63V, however the normal operating (charge/discharge) is from 2.5 to 4.2 V as shown by the specifications shown here...
Click to expand...
True, and if you integrate power output over that full voltage range you arrive at a total energy capacity. If you divide that by the Ah rating you get that nominal voltage. It's a convenient way to characterise the cell without worrying about a complicated voltage curve.
Vid.beatific said:
...Probably the usable capacity is 62kWh!
Click to expand...
We've unaware of that number or if a low-end buffer is used. The missing piece of info is the cell voltage when the Kona's dash says 0% SoC.
 
The cell published data plotted out shows that it's quite nonlinear under 10%. Another challenge is that we don't have a way of precisely measuring OCV in the car. The best we can do is take data while low-power AC charging with the Minimum setting applied to minimise charging power, yet externally support the on-board systems that allow OBD cell or pack voltage to be read.
The data I plotted here against the published OCV is while driving, so that averages to cell voltage under moderate load and that offset of course reflects the cell resistance.
OCV spec vs actual dring data.webp
 
Vid.beatific said:
I just opened a kona battery - it consists of 98 modules 180Ah (every module = 3x 60Ah cell LGY E63B - 3.63V nominal and 218Wh).
View attachment 10995View attachment 10996
View attachment 10997

So the real capacity is: 3.63V (nominal) x 180Ah (3x60Ah) x 98 (cell no) = 64kWh not 67kWh as specified on :

https://ev-database.org/car/1204/Hyundai-Kona-Electric-64-kWh#charging

Probably the usable capacity is 62kWh!




Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Click to expand...
It appears the cell (as pictured) is from the Nanjing China manufacture facility (even though the label shows "made in Korea") and would be included in the recent NTHSA (and Hyundai) recalls. Any signs of damage and could this be an issue in usage re-application considering the folded anode?
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2021/RCLRPT-21V127-1095.PDF
 
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we checked them carefully and the cells do not have any external signs that could indicate a possible risk of fire, we use max 80% of their capacity in photovoltaic systems . I tested them charging / discharging at 85Ah .. (cc, cv) at least on charging they heat up a bit. that's why we decided to use them below 0.3C charge / dischrge on the 180Ah pack.


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Fantastic way to repurpose used cells. At .3C I can see why they don't heat up. I've seen others do this. With the recall on the Kona EV's their is likely to be lots of these available. Good time to start a business repurposing.
 
electriceddy said:
Nice opening post! Thanks for the pictures. Are you working on a project?
The nominal voltage is 3.63V, however the normal operating (charge/discharge) is from 2.5 to 4.2 V as shown by the specifications shown here:
https://insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/lg-chem-lg-e63-cell-discussion.9783/
the capacity @ the higher 4.2 V will increase accordingly, although you don't want to keep it there for a long duration.
Probably best to store @ the rated 3.63 nominal voltage which translates to ~ 86% SOC.
Click to expand...
Interesting.. If the calculation is correct, the pack would have over 73kw at 100% charge..
So capacity would be 4.18V x 180Ah (3x60Ah) x 98 (cell no) = 73.7 kw. That seems a lot higher than the 67 kw that some claimed that the pack has..
 
Very interesting thread. The very 1st pic included that shows that "LGCHEM" type of batteries -- WHERE IS THAT PANEL? Is it easy to see from under the car? or does it require removing something to expose that?

FYI ... I have had all RECALLS & Service Campaigns done to date. I don't usually charge to 100% but though I'd give it a try to see what my cells charge to at full charge.. I've included a pic from SOUL SPY =>>

100% Charge after Feb 21 BMS Service Campaign.webp
 
Tim94549 said:
Very interesting thread. The very 1st pic included that shows that "LGCHEM" type of batteries -- WHERE IS THAT PANEL? Is it easy to see from under the car? or does it require removing something to expose that?

FYI ... I have had all RECALLS & Service Campaigns done to date. I don't usually charge to 100% but though I'd give it a try to see what my cells charge to at full charge.. I've included a pic from SOUL SPY =>>

View attachment 11018
Click to expand...

it's on every cell ... for that you have to open the battery.




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Hey Vid, what's the name of your business? We're considering building an off-grid home and I've wondered about just this idea of using repurposed EV cells for storage (but I don't have the DIY chops to DIMyself).
I'd be interested in learning more about a company like yours.
Thanks, Nate
 
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