The firm says the technology can fully charge in about 12 minutes while lasting well beyond a million miles, a claim that targets one of the biggest concerns holding back wider EV adoption in the US and globally.
Fast charging has long been associated with faster wear. The engineers tested whether the chemistry could handle that stress over time. According to the company, the answer was yes. Under standard conditions at 68°F, the battery retained at least 80 percent of its original capacity after 3,000 full charge-and-discharge cycles.
When translated into driving distance, that adds up to nearly 1.5 million miles. The company says this performance is roughly six times better than the current industry average under similar testing conditions.
Several material-level innovations underpin the battery’s performance. The cathode uses a specialized protective coating designed to reduce breakdown and prevent the loss of metal ions during rapid charging and discharging.
Ok. Great! Now the big question. How much will a mass produced battery of this type cost?
To me, the charge times I’m seeing advertised on 800V systems is perfect for road tripping.
How we fill-up our combustion car on a road trip: pull up to the pump, I get out and spend 5 minutes filling the tank. We leave the pump and park again, we all go inside, hit the restroom, grab a beverage and a snack, and go back to our car. Total time is going to be in the 20-minute ballpark.
How you fill-up your 800V EV on a road trip: plug in, everyone walks inside to do the same stuff, come back out and be nearly ready to go. (this is the part I have a hard time with my 400V ZDX, my charging takes too long).
The lure of the “5 minute EV charging” on 1GW chargers sounds great. But I don’t think it’s actually necessary in 95% of road trip situations. And has zero value to my daily commute life.
I’m doing all the charging for my Model Y off the 110 volt plug in my garage. The only time I’ve used an outside charging station was the free Supercharger visit on the drive home from Seattle nearly a year ago.
The other big question is what will the charging station look like? This involves a huge amount of current and, I suspect, python-like charging cables. Is each charging station going to need its own electrical substation?