Among fans of motorsport, a race contested on the picturesque streets of Monaco is occasion to revel in the heroic drivers and unforgettable victories of past decades. Yet for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, racing on the historic streets of the principality, a tiny enclave on the Mediterranean coast of France, presents a compelling vision for the future of emissions-free mobility.
A highlight of this race weekend, round six of the 2021-22 championship campaign, will be a first look at the car that will become ABB Formula E’s race machine from Season 9, when ABB takes on the role of Official Charging Supplier for the all-electric series. The third generation of machine since the series began in 2014 is lighter, faster, more powerful and energy-efficient than its predecessors, and maps out an ambitious development path for EVs.
The famed Monaco street circuit was the site of a breakthrough clash for the series in 2021, when the race took place for the first time on a slightly revised version of the full course used by Formula 1. The result: an edge-of-seat contest that featured dozens of thrilling passes and a breathtaking last-lap overtake for the win by António Félix da Costa of the DS Techeetah team.
This year’s race on the venerable 19-turn, 3.3-kilometer (2.1 mile) course holds even greater promise, owing to the elimination of a chicane placed at Turn 11 for the 2021 event. Da Costa will be challenged in his quest for a repeat of his Season 7 win here: Mitch Evans, the Jaguar TCS Racing driver arriving fresh from his double wins in the Rome rounds earlier this month, will be eager to improve on last season’s third-place finish, while Robin Frijns of Envision Racing will be looking to improve on his runner-up performance and advance from his second place in the points standings.
The success of the electric single-seat cars on a course first raced in 1929, tackling the hill at Sainte Dévote and continuing through the challenges of Casino Square, Mirabeau and the Grand Hotel Hairpin, reflects the accelerated progress in ABB Formula E, which has seen its once-radical drive systems become increasingly mainstream on today’s road cars.
For instance, the racecar batteries recharge in the trackside garages at an 80 kilowatt rate, a very tech-forward level when the Gen2 cars were introduced, but now widely available in the public stations that ABB provides globally by the tens of thousands. Likewise, the use of 900-volt systems for the drive motors, an aspirational number not so long ago, is a figure now being approached by leading electric road cars such as the Porsche Taycan.
According to Aaron Snapes, Formula E Battery Engineering Manager at McLaren Applied, supplier of the lithium-ion battery packs for today’s cars, fully recharging a depleted battery after a hard-fought race takes about an hour. Much like the current practice for road cars, the charge rate tapers down when the battery reaches 80 percent capacity as a longevity provision. That’s important, as each car uses a single battery for the entire season.
The parallels between ABB Formula E and consumer EVs further support the value proposition of automakers becoming involved in motorsport. Battery “conditioning” in preparation for a DC fast charge takes the form of an external cooling source used by the teams at the track. Similarly, some of the latest road car models are equipped with onboard programs that ready the battery for rapid charging, while still driving. That way, the car arrives at the charging station in the ideal condition for the shortest recharge time.
Very much in line with ABB’s commitment to sustainability and environmental compatibility, a large majority of the battery pack is re-used from season to season. The individual cells are replaced – a logical practice for the demands of racing – while the removed cells, still useful for many applications, are put to other uses.
Until the full specification of the Gen3 cars is made public and the teams begin on-track testing later this year, the degree and pace of technology transfer from racetrack to road won’t be apparent. Already, the DC fast chargers produced by ABB deliver 350 kW refills to new EVs; the upcoming charging strategy can establish a baseline for future road vehicles that grows from the many advances pioneered in ABB Formula E.
To the 22 drivers dueling for the top spot of the podium and the all-important championship points, it will of course be race day that matters, not visions of the future. Even so, the podium celebrations following the checkered flag at this E-Prix are as much a promise of future emissions-free mobility, as they are a tradition on motorsport’s crown jewel battleground.
