McLaren will supply Formula E batteries in seasons five and six

It was announced this afternoon to the media by the FIA that McLaren Applied Technologies has won the tender to supply all race batteries to Formula E in seasons five and six.

Currently, all batteries used to power the race cars' high voltage powertrains are supplied by Williams Advanced Engineering, which stepped into the breach late in the development of the original car with a fast track design and build process.

But when we reach season five, the series will then move from two cars to one for each driver. This then requires a radical step forward in the energy capacity available.

McLaren has already been involved with Formula E for some time as the current supplier of all motors used in the first generation racing car and the ECU used in almost all first and second year cars.

But with many predicting that the holy grail of the sport is seen to be battery development, and it is our hope that the batteries will be opened up to multiple suppliers from season seven onwards.

There are enough OEM car makers now (including battery supplier Panasonic) who will want to deploy their own technologies once the series is mature enough.

However keeping batteries as spec items for now, however, keeps development costs by teams somewhat under control and prevents an “arms race” which could destroy on-track competition.

McLaren will work with Spark once again, the French company which built the current generation of Formula E chassis and which has won a tender recently to supply the next version of spec chassis.

Williams has kept the current battery shrouded in secrecy, as the chemistry and construction of the units are related to other commercial projects outside Formula E. In the spirit of enthusing audiences about EV tech, however, and given that all teams will be using identical batteries, we'd hope that the new battery might be opened up to more exploration. (It's a long shot but our fingers are crossed.)

There's the official confirmation of the news as provided by the FIA as follows:-

“The FIA previously launched a tender for the exclusive supply of batteries for the FIA Formula E Championship, with the aim of implementing technology that will allow drivers to complete a full race without changing cars mid-race from Season 5.

“At the conclusion of the tender process, and with the support of independent experts, the World Motor Sport Council has chosen McLaren Applied Technologies as the exclusive battery supplier for the 2018-19 (Season 5) and 2019-20 seasons. The decision was made to limit the term of this agreement to two seasons in light of the ongoing rapid development of battery technology.”

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa