Daimler and BASF unveil "smart" solution to range anxiety

The term ’range anxiety’ is now so firmly entrenched in the motoring lexicon it’s become something of a cliché - a stick with which stubborn petrol-heads beat down the latest electric car renaissance.

Looking for an edge, it approached BASF, which has a wealth of experience in making energy-efficient materials for use in construction, machine tooling and coatings.

Indeed, the car takes some lessons from BASF’s concept house at Nottingham University, which addresses issues of temperature management.

’If you build a house, you expect that in the winter it’s warm, and your walls are properly insulated, but at the moment no-one expects that of a car, so that was one of the first questions we posed,’ said Dr Olaf Kriha, BASF project manager of thermoplastics research.

Of course, there’s more at stake in EVs, since heating and cooling systems are a major drain on the battery, constraining range. Plus, EV designers have no residual engine heat to use, as is the case with combustion models.