A small battery firm based in South Korea has signed a deal with Apple to co-develop innovative hollow batteries for the Cupertino company’s much-rumored electric car project, reports ETNews.
In an English-language report, the Korean news site says that the mystery battery company employs 20 or so “expert technologists in batteries”, and has patented hollow battery technology on which Apple intends to base batteries that will feature solely in its own autonomous vehicles.
The batteries developed by the Korean firm, the identity of which the report does not specify as the company has reportedly recently sealed a non-disclosure agreement with Apple, has developed what are referred to as cylindrical lithium-ion secondary batteries with hollow centers.
ETNews explains that, because batteries make most of their heat from the center, the Korean company “has created batteries where air flow and cooling are smooth in the center of batteries and this can minimize installation of separate cooling device or a device that prevents over-heating.”
MacRumors has speculated that the Korean company could actually be Orange Power, which has filed a patent application with the European Patent Office for a hollow type secondary battery.
Apple’s first electric car was evidently once intended to be based on BMW’s i3 electric car, pictured above. Apple’s own car should launch by 2021, according to various reports cited by MacRumors.
