About:Energy tasked with McMurtry battery challenge

In 2022, the Spéirling fan car set a record time of 39.08 seconds on the Goodwood hill climb and has subsequently clocked a 0-60mph time of just 1.4 seconds. The forthcoming Spéirling PURE – the production version that will be available to the public for just under £1m – is set to be even faster still.

Powering the PURE will be the Molicel P50B, a 5.0Ah 21700 form factor lithium-ion cell, claimed to have one of the highest power densities in the world at 260Wh/kg. When the P50B is released later in the year, About:Energy will rapidly test and model its unique performance metrics, allowing McMurtry engineers to incorporate the data into the design and simulations of the PURE’s battery packs.

“We’re working in parallel with McMurtry on the quickest and most in-depth battery knowledge transfer to date to accelerate the development process of McMurtry’s vehicles,” said Gavin White, co-founder and CEO About:Energy.

“Our aim is to eliminate the need for costly and time-consuming in-house battery testing by arming companies and their engineering teams with direct access to world-leading advanced battery intelligence, so they can build better batteries, and accelerate timelines by reducing reliance on physical testing.”

White told The Engineer that About:Energy has been working with the Molicel P45B - predecessor to the upcoming P50B - for the past year. According to White, that experience should allow About:Energy to deliver a battery model to McMurtry on the P50B within about a month, enabling the team to maximise battery performance on the PURE.

“This process will enable a team of world-leading engineers to spend less time testing batteries and more time developing world-class concepts and breaking records,” said White.

Kevin Ukoko-Rongione, chief engineer, at McMurtry Automotive added: “Working with About:Energy feels like an extension to our in house team.  Their engineers are proactive in supporting us to make the most of the battery data and insights obtained from their world class testing facilities. The benefit to us is a quicker time to market, and the benefit to our customers will be a battery pack which has both optimised performance and enhanced lifespan.”