After nearly two years of research, competitor analysis, and user/dealer feedback, Advanced Li was able to launch a line of battery packs that enhances all the advantages lithium has to offer.
As lithium battery technology has matured, it has taken a firm grip on the personal transportation vehicle (PTV) industry, with golf car owners nationwide clamoring to upgrade from their traditional wet-cell battery packs. This spike in demand has seen a surge of new battery manufacturers enter the marketplace with their own Lithium battery pack offerings. While all lithium battery offerings boast the same basic advantages such as longer lifespan, decreased charge time, and increased range, not all lithium battery packs are created equal.
Advancing Forward
While many first movers quickly began developing lithium battery packs as soon as Lithium-based chemistries were proven to be viable for the PTV industry, the team behind Advanced Li made a collaborative decision to wait. This decision did not create an immediate boom in sales. Nor did it create immediate brand recognition in a market that was starving for an answer. Instead, the decision to wait provided Advanced Li with something far greater: the opportunity to advance forward. As lithium batteries were deployed into the marketplace, the Advanced Li team realized that while lithium technology provided overwhelming benefits, it was not without its pain points as well.
After nearly two years of research, competitor analysis, and feedback from both end users and dealerships throughout the United States, Advanced Li was able to launch a line of battery packs that retains all the advantages lithium has to offer, improves upon these advantages, and fixes many of the issues found in other packs.
Increased Power Output
One of the key issues that Advanced Li sought to address was the low discharge currents that were present in other battery packs. While typical flooded battery packs will provide as much current as is required of them, Lithium battery packs are governed by a Battery Management System (BMS) that is constantly managing the battery pack and controlling the outflow of current. As the industry continues to change, more and more golf cars are being produced with AC drive-systems that feature high-powered motors and high-amperage controllers. Past that, many owners are pursuing their own after-market upgrades to install even higher-powered systems. While these systems can give a complete make-over to a vehicle’s drive quality, they are also incredibly energy-hungry and require high current inputs to maintain top performance.
In the best-case scenario, other battery packs on the market simply cannot deliver as much current as the vehicle’s drive system requires and the driver is left feeling short-changed because their vehicle cannot go as fast or produce as much torque as he or she would like. Many end-users of lithium battery packs have reported that when their vehicle is loaded to capacity, they have trouble navigating steep hills and inclines that they previously handled without issue.
In the worst-case scenario, once the battery pack’s maximum current output is reached, the BMS will automatically shut off the battery pack and all voltage output will completely stop. For vehicles that use electromagnetic motor brakes, a feature that is becoming more and more prominent in the industry, this means the motor brake will engage and bring the vehicle to a screeching halt. This abrupt shut-off exposes the vehicle’s occupants to additional danger as they lose complete control of the vehicle, often in the middle of the road. The wrong choice in lithium battery pack can result in a feature that normally increases safety becoming a major liability.
Advanced Li solves these issues by producing lithium battery packs that boast industry-leading discharge currents, both on a short-term and extended basis. Every Advanced Li battery pack boasts an extended discharge current of 2C, with the 200AH pack reaching a max discharge current of 500A for 10s. With an Advanced Li battery, you can feel confident that it is delivering all the power needed by your vehicle. Grab some friends, load up your 6-passenger, and go challenge the biggest hill in the neighborhood – you won’t be disappointed!
Safety and Intelligence
While other battery packs have decreased power output in exchange for increasing safety and longevity, Advanced Li has proven there does not need to be a tradeoff between power and long-term performance. A key reason other battery manufacturers keep their discharge currents low is that it prolongs the battery’s life. Advanced Li battery packs have an extremely rugged design and utilize individual cells that are durable and capable of withstanding high current outputs without accelerating degradation. On top of the cell construction, Advanced Li battery packs feature an ultra-intelligent BMS system that is constantly monitoring, amongst other variables, voltage, temperature, and current flow across all cells. The BMS ensures that the cells are in working order and produces warnings when they are not.
While many other manufacturers maintain one or two current triggers that force the BMS to produce a warning or shut-off, Advanced Li’s BMS utilizes a series of over-current triggers, that ensures the high current outputs are achieved in a safe way. Additionally, all Advanced Li battery packs rated 100AH or greater feature a Contactor Relay, as opposed to the typical MOSFET used by other brands. The contactor relay routes excess current across a series of resistors, safely dissipating power. The Contactor Relay means that even if maximum current output is reached by the battery pack, it will not cause the battery pack to automatically shut-off and cause an immediate stop in the vehicle. Instead, the operator will be able to coast to a safe stop, applying brakes as needed.
Rounding out some of the great safety features associated with Advanced Li: a single, unified BMS reduces the chance of inter-battery communication errors seen in other brands, the lithium iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) chemistry has been proven to be less susceptible to thermal runaway in comparison to Lithium-ion, and UN38.3 certification has marked it to be safe for transport.
Broad-Scale Compatibility
While everyone would love to have infinite power in the palm of their hand, we all know this is not realistic. After assembling all the right components to create a battery pack that provided performance, safety and quality, the development team ran into issues regarding packaging all this performance into a target size. Fortunately, after further tweaks and development, Advanced Li now offers battery packs that are compatible with major brands like E-Z-GO, Club Car, Yamaha, and Advanced EV.
See For Yourself!
Advanced Li is excited to roll out this new offering and can’t wait to hear what other people think! To get the latest news regarding our products and stay in the loop regarding future offerings, be sure to check us out at www.advanced-li.com. To become a dealer email [email protected].
