13 Feb Hyliion Doesn’t Fear Disruption. It Has Plans of Its Own.
Stock in the hybrid and electric heavy-duty truck technology company Hyliion spiked Thursday after a surprise announcement about new EV battery technology. The next-generation tech itself is good news, but the announcement also demonstrated to nervous investors that Hyliion can be a long-term winner in vehicle electrification even if hydrogen fuel cells or all-battery electric trucks end up displacing its current hybrid offerings.
Hyliion (ticker: HYLN) announced a battery system using lithium-titanate-oxide technology from Toshiba (6502. Japan), rather than the more common lithium-ion batteries. LTO has a lithium titanate-based anode instead of a graphite battery anode, among other differences.
LTO batteries offer faster charge times and longer life than some other options, but they cost more and are less energy dense. That means the LTO batteries, essentially, don’t hold as much electricity.
But energy density isn’t everything, and battery users’ needs vary. Hyliion’s LTO technology can get a full charge in eight minutes. With a charge time so short, Hyliion can reduce the size of its battery packs, cutting the battery cost for each vehicle.