Making its debut at the 2014 Geneva
Motor Show is the new Quant e-
Sportlimousine by Lichenstein based
company NanoFlowcell AG. Recently
branded street legal by Germany’s
TÜV Süd regulatory agency, the
Quant’s stunning design and
incredible power easily hides its
most innovative feature, a flow cell
battery powertrain that runs on
saltwater instead of gasoline.
quantcar
With its sleek, sculptured body and
oversized gullwing doors the Quant
screams power, which it delivers in
spades; it can go from 0-62 mph in
2.8 seconds with a top speed of 236
mph. The Quant has 4 electric
motors, one for each wheel,
providing an impressive 912-hp that
gives the Quant supercar status.
Despite all the engineering and
exterior marvels, the Quant’s wood
and leather interior is surprisingly
spacious, which comes with 4 seats
and plenty of attention to detail
whose swaths of copper finish makes
it more indicative of a futuristic
cockpit than an automobile.
quantdash
The Quant’s real claim to fame is its
powertrain, which utilizes an
electrolyte flow cell system first
invented by NASA for the space
program in the 1970s. The system
consists of two 200 liter (≈ 53
gallons) tanks filled with a saltwater
electrolyte solution. This solution is
pumped into two adjoining cells
that’s divided by a membrane
separating the positively and
negatively charged fluids. This
membrane facilitates the transition
of electrons from the positively
charged solution to the negative
one. When this happens the
electricity generated feeds two
supercapacitors that in turn
distribute the power to the
aforementioned 4 electric motors.
With a range of 373 miles on one
tank, the Quant promises efficiency 5
times that of a comparable by weight
lithium ion battery system.
quantdiagram
As far as refueling is concerned, the
process will be similar to what we
are used to with a regular gasoline
car. When the energy in the
electrolyte tanks are depleted the
liquid only needs to be refilled; an
added bonus is that the spent fluid
can be recharged for repeat use. In
addition, and unlike lithium ion
batteries, the electrolyte solution
experiences no decay in efficiency
(also known as memory effect).
NanoFlowcell states that their flow
cell system is non-toxic, replacing
earlier incarnations of flow cell
batteries whose electrolyte solution
contained a slew of harmful
elements such as vanadium,
bromine, and even uranium. They
also claim that no precious or rare
earth metals are used in the
electrolyte solution. Given the
proprietary nature of this solution,
NanoFlowcell will not disclose what
magic elixir makes up their
electrolyte solution other than it is
mostly salt water. This solution is
possibly the most interesting aspect
of this story; any future tidbits that
NanoFlowcell releases will certainly
be pored over by researchers all over
the world.
quant2
The engineers behind NanoFlowcell’s
Quant are not constraining
themselves to just the automotive
market. They have plans to expand
their nano flow cell technology to
domestic energy production as well
as maritime, rail and aviation
propulsion systems. If the Quant e-
Sportlimosine performs as
advertised, then not only is this
technology another serious
contender in the search for
alternative fuel sources, but
NanoFlowcell’s future may surpass
even their greatest expectations.
www.techgenmag.com/2014/09/06/salt-water-powered-sports-car-an-engineering-marvel/

This is good news.
Very eco-friendly .
Hope it is pocket-friendly too!