Green energy technology developer Fortescue Zero has been announced as the “Official Pit Boost Provider” of the Formula E World Championship for the 11 the season of the electric vehicle racing competition.
Fortescue, part of iron ore giant Fortescue Metals’ big green energy pivot, was chosen because of its technology that can add a 10 per cent boost to total battery capacity in just 30 seconds.
The UK headquartered Fortescue Zero, formerly known as Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) before it was acquired by Fortescue Future Industries in March 2022, developed its rapid and efficient ultra-fast booster system to be capable of delivering two battery boosts per race from a portable unit.
Pit Boost is further enhanced by Fortescue Zero’s battery intelligence software, Elysia, which is capable of optimising the speed of charging while also preserving battery life and integrity. Specifically, Elysia enables the race car battery to achieve a charging C-rate of around 15C.
The Pit Boost was inaugurated during the Championship’s third round held last month in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. IT is a mandatory mid-race 34-second pit-stop that gives the GEN3 Evo racing cars a 10% energy increase (3.85kWh) during a 30-second, 600kW boost.
Each team is provided a single Pit Boost system meaning that teams cannot double-stack their cars.
Fortescue Zero is taking its boost innovations to develop real-world solutions for on-road and heavy industrial applications, such as parent company Fortescue Metals’ 6MW EV fast charger, unveiled last September.
This serves to further demonstrate Formula E’s role as a test bed for new electric vehicle technologies and systems.
“The successful development and integration of Fortescue Zero’s Pit Boost technology has not only been a positive gamer-changer for the racing our fans can expect, but is one of the biggest new features introduced into world-motorsport in recent memory,” said Jeff Dodds, CEO of Formula E.
“Not only is it bringing huge new excitement to our racetracks but allows the series and commercial partners to pioneer cutting edge technology that is directly relevant to road going EV users.
“This new technology will have enormous real-world benefits and tangibly contributes to our overarching mission of accelerating the development and uptake of EVs around the world.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.