Renault ZOE ZE 40 full battery specs

While not officially confirmed, it seems that the Renault ZOE ZE 40 battery pack is made with 192 LG Chem LGX E63 cells. Now, thanks to a leaked document we have access to the complete specs of these NCM 622 battery cells.
Let’s take a closer look at the LG Chem LGX E63 battery cell.
- Nominal Capacity: 65,6 Ah (discharged at 21,6 A) – 64,8 Ah (discharged at 32,5 A)
- Minimum Capacity: 64,6 Ah (discharged at 21,6 A) – 63,8 Ah (discharged at 32,5 A)
- Nominal Voltage: 3,6 V
- Charging Voltage: 4,2 V
- Thickness: 11,5 mm
- Width: 125 mm
- Height: 325 mm
- Volume: 0,4671875 L
- Weight: 964,9 g
- Volumetric Energy Density: 492-505 Wh/L
- Gravimetric Energy Density: 238-245 Wh/kg
Renault ZE 40 battery pack (192 cells in 96s2p configuration)
- Nominal Capacity: 45,34 kWh (discharged at 14,93 kW) – 44,79 kWh (discharged at 22,46 kW)
- Minimum Capacity: 44,65 kWh (discharged at 14,93 kW) – 44,1 kWh (discharged at 22,46 kW)
- Nominal Voltage: 345,6 V
- Charging Voltage: 400 V
- Weight: 185,26 kg (cells only)
Here is how much temperature impacts the capacity of your battery.
- -20º C: 60,2 % = 26,42 kWh
- -10º C: 84,2 % = 36,96 kWh
- 0º C: 90,4 % = 39,68 kWh
- 25º C: 100 % = 43,9 kWh
- 45º C: 102,1 % = 44,81 kWh
Cycle life at 25º C:
- 94 % of initial battery capacity after 200 cycles (25º C)
- 84 % of initial battery capacity after 1.000 cycles (25º C)
- 80 % of initial battery capacity after 1.400 cycles (25º C)
Cycle life at 45º C:
- 91 % of initial battery capacity after 200 cycles (45º C)
- 78 % of initial battery capacity after 1.000 cycles (45º C)
- 72 % of initial battery capacity after 1.400 cycles (45º C)
Fortunately the Renault ZOE has a TMS (Thermal Management System) to make sure that the battery pack stays near its ideal temperature of 25º C.
If we consider that the average range of a Renault ZOE when new is 250 km, after 1.000 cycles we can expect it to be at least 200 km (80 %). During the first 1.000 cycles the average range should be around 225 km, this means that we’ll reach 1.000 cycles after 225.000 km. I’m being conservative here, it’s reasonable to expect the battery to retain 80 % of its initial capacity after 300.000 km.
Curiously, A123 Systems has a very similar 65 Ah battery cell that is even smaller than this LG Chem E63 (308×102 mm vs 325×125 mm). However, A123 Systems doesn’t have the production capacity that LG Chem has, which is required to deliver a good product at an appealing price.
Anyway, this LG Chem E63 battery cell is very impressive, you can see how it compares to the AESC cell currently used by the Nissan LEAF here.
However, the most interesting comparison will only be possible later this year, when we finally get some details on the LG Chem cells to be used on the second generation Renault ZOE and compare them to the AESC cells in the Nissan LEAF e-Plus battery pack. The second generation Renault ZOE is expected to get a WLTP range of 400 km, while the Nissan LEAF e-Plus gets a 385 km WLTP range.
Summing up, if you’re planning to buy a used Renault ZOE with a ZE 40 battery, you now know what to expect and do your math. For example, it’s clear that the battery lease isn’t a wise choice for the long term.
More info:
http://www.yunergybattery.com/productshow.asp?id=756#.XGA4Orrnjiz
http://queenbattery.com.cn/our-products/677-lg-e63-376v-63ah-li-po-li-polymer-battery-cell.html
http://queenbattery.com.cn/index.php?controller=attachment&id_attachment=109
Interesting numbers.
Looking at used cars, normally it makes more sense to look at calendar aging
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/download/file.php?id=244435&sid=39cb1ecd2f09e3c3ba87b51b5c9f6b1b
Pag.17
AESC datasheet shows 90% SOH after 1000 cycles and 97.5% SOH after 1 year @ 25º C (calendar aging).
So comparing data sheets, AESC GEN4 cells are considerably better than LG E63.
Considering a normal driving profile, that drives in a city short distances most of the year, the lack of TMS is negligible on degradation for most drivers.
Also interesting:
Real world data shows that 64 Ah BMW cells with TMS (>2013) and AESC GEN2 cells (>2013) degrade basically the same.
While discrepancy between WLTP and NEDC can be pretty large, 385 km WLTP is nowhere near 600 km NEDC.
PS. Your captcha seems to fail at maths: I’m pretty sure eighteen + 13 is indeed 31…
You’re right. Thanks.
Are you sure LG has larger production scale than A123? AFAIK A123 is among the major Chinese producers, with several GWh per year. While LG is aggressively building out capacity now, they also sold only a couple of GWh of automotive batteries last year…
Con respecto al paquete de baterías del Zoe 40, especificaría que lo que se has expuesto es la capacidad bruta, no la útil, puesto que el BMS del Zoe limíta la carga a 4,10 V y la descarga a 2,95 V por celda (394 V max, 285 V min).
Just wanted to say thanks for all your articles. Avidly waiting for the new Zoe, could it be the first affordable mass EV? I mean, one that check all the boxes and escapes the EV niche and rivals ICE cars sales? Will see.
Also I would like to hear you opinion from the BYD T3 electric van that is starting sales in Europe soon:
http://www.todotransporte.com/el-fabricante-chino-byd-presenta-en-espana-su-gama-de-camiones-electricos/
What can we expect from BYD battery life compared to LG or AESC?
Thanks Rodri.
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I think that the first electric car that we can call affordable for the masses is the new Smart EQ ForTwo/ForFour 2.0 coming later this year. Smart will only be selling electric cars starting next year, so they’ll have to be affordable (considerably below 20.000 euros).
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The Renault Zoe 2.0, Peugeot 208 Electric, Opel eCorsa and Volkswagen Neo will still priced closer to 30.000 euros than to 20.000 euros. They won’t be affordable for the masses, at least until generous discounts start.
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Regarding the BYD T3, it has a 50,3 kWh NCM battery, it looks like a good alternative to the Nissan e-NV200 since it also has versions with 2, 5 and 7 seats.
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https://sg.byd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/T3-Brochure_updated.pdf
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The battery cycle life shouldn’t be much different from LG Chem and AESC cells.
Many thanks. I am not a “Smart” guy lol. I could go for the Zoe or an electric van for my small business next year, some discount or grant would seal the deal. The cost of ownership is very close between diesel and electric before incentives, provided you do a lot of kilometres per year. 25.000 euros is the sweet spot for me, 20.000 will be a no-brainer. Cheers!
PS. The captcha does not work until you fail a few times and the question changes.
Just a question, when the graphic shows “cycles”, what kind of cycle is it referring to?
At what DoD? at what Crate?
SOC from 0 to 97% at eqw 16kW charging for Zoe ZE40 (60% of that above 4.05 cell voltage until cell max 4.16V) then discharge at eqw 25kW for Zoe all the way to 0% (cell voltage all down to 2.5V) then wait 60 min, repeating until end of test…
So it is much tougher then reality. I doubt that I ever will use the battery all the way down to 2.5V per cell.
From reality then.
And at current Zoe ZE40 BMS settings (16 Celsius at the cells) the battery do not charge above 4.151V 98% stated real SOC, 100% user SOC. I have never seen a higher cell voltage.
What chemistry had been used in LG Chem E63 cells for a Zoe ZE 40 from 2016: NCM 622?
What chemistry is used in the LG Chem E63 for a ZE40 built in 2016? What is the content of Li in the cells?
It’s either NCM 622 or NCM 523.
We have lithium oxide in the cathode and lithium salts in the electrolyte.
“A compact EV battery (Nissan Leaf) uses about 4 kg (9 lb) of lithium”.
https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/availability_of_lithium
https://www.istc.illinois.edu/UserFiles/Servers/Server_427403/File/20111115.pdf
I would like to know in what factoria LG Chem was manufactured the battery of the ZOE ZE 40 of 2016-2017. Thank you
This post is a game-changer, thank you!
There is definately a lot to find out about this subject. I like all the points you made