Low-voltage Technology

Not everything has to be high voltage

Logo 48Volt

nanoFlowcell®:
compatible with high and low voltage

Our nanoFlowcell® can be used for both low-voltage and high-voltage applications. The various QUANT prototypes demonstrate the application of the nanoFlowcell® in different voltage environments. In the automotive sector, we have concentrated fully on low-voltage applications in the future because the merits of a low-voltage drive system outweigh those of a high-voltage drive system. Our QUANT electric sports cars are presently the most advanced and powerful low-voltage electric vehicles in existence – they are also the only ones to have road approval.

VOLTAGE IS NOT RELEVANT TO PERFORMANCE

Flouting high voltage conventional wisdom

Standard practice has been to install a high-voltage drive system with up to 800 volts in electric vehicles. Engineers have simply accepted the potential dangers inherent in high-voltage systems because there was no other way to achieve desired vehicle performance. But we are proving that electric vehicle technology is possible without high-voltage systems.

Our nanoFlowcell® 48VOLT low-voltage electric drive is scalable and fits as easily into a compact car such as the QUANTiNO 48VOLT as it does in a performance-oriented super sports car like the QUANT 48VOLT. The nanoFlowcell® 48VOLT low-voltage electric drive is the most powerful, eco-friendly, safe and cost-effective electric vehicle drive system on the market today.

QUANT Low-voltage systems

Although we are not a vehicle manufacturer, we are an enthusiastic development team that can demonstrate the efficiency and modularity of nanoFlowcell® technology both in the lab and in real life through the construction of prototype electric vehicles. While our QUANT FE showcased nanoFlowcell® technology in a classic high-voltage application, we also developed a special low-voltage drive to power the QUANTiNO 48VOLT.

In short, QUANTiNO is currently the only road-legal electric car in the world with a low-voltage drive. And with the QUANT 48VOLT, we have designed the first ever sports car in automotive history to feature a low-voltage drive, an innovation that further demonstrates the power of our nanoFlowcell® 48VOLT low-voltage drive technology.

In low-voltage systems, high currents require exceptionally large cable cross-sections and can lead to higher transmission losses. But the design of our nanoFlowcell® 48VOLT low-voltage drive solves this problem because  nanoFlowcell® generates high currents at a very low nominal voltage, making such currents perfectly suitable for a low-voltage drive.

In the QUANTiNO 48VOLT and the QUANT48VOLT, we have configured the low-voltage drive architecture in a way that significantly reduces the cable diameters usually required. This is an important development in the design of low-voltage electric vehicles since it reduces both costs and weight while opening up more design flexibility.

While high-voltage electric vehicles call for full-scale contact and arcing protection, low-voltage vehicles do not require it. The benefits are two fold: First, it provides greater safety for vehicle occupants, as well as for first responders in the event of an accident. Second, it results in an accelerated homologation process because functional safety is easier to implement in low-voltage vehicles.

We are currently the only manufacturer in the world able to achieve low-voltage drives in electric cars without compromising on total vehicle weight or performance. And we will make good use of this design advantage in the development of future QUANT electric vehicle concepts.