New battery allows electric cars to charge in 10 minutes

An advance in electric vehicle battery design has enabled a charging time of 10 minutes for a typical battery used for this purpose. The research was published on October 12 in the journal Nature.

The innovative lithium-ion battery design involves a "record combination" that allows for a shorter charge time and more energy storage for a longer travel range, according to the Pennsylvania State University researchers who came up with it.

"The need for smaller, faster-charging batteries is greater than ever," said Professor Chao-Yang Wang of Pennsylvania State University, who is leading the research.

“Our fast-charging technology works for most energy-dense batteries and will open up a new possibility of downsizing electric vehicle batteries from 150 to 50 kWh without driving range anxiety,” he said Wang.

Smaller, faster-charging batteries will dramatically reduce battery costs and the use of essential raw materials, such as cobalt, graphite and lithium, enabling the mass adoption of affordable electric cars.

The breakthrough focuses on a novel method that regulates battery temperature, which is necessary to optimize charging time and performance. Until now, this has involved external heating and cooling systems that are inefficient and waste energy.

Normal batteries have three components, an anode, an electrolyte and a cathode, but the fast charging system adds a fourth element, which integrates the temperature regulation system.

For this reason, and in what is the search for a solution to this problem and an extremely fast charging system, scientists from the Pennsylvania State University have just successfully completed their tests of a cell in a new format that was capable of overcoming 500 charge and discharge cycles and fulfilling a full charge in less than 10 minutes. Indeed, with what is a new cell for electric car batteries, it has managed to maintain an energy capacity greater than 260 Wh/kg after 500 charge cycles and uses a new extremely fast charging system.

In this way, electric cars would approach, with this type of battery, the objective they have been pursuing, which is none other than being very close to the times of a gas station. And this technology seems to be one of the indicated ones.

Thus, the advance focuses on a novel method that regulates the temperature of the battery, necessary to optimize charging time and performance. Until now, this has involved external heating and cooling systems that are inefficient and waste energy.

Thus, they can be called normal batteries for electric cars, which have three components: an anode, an electrolyte and a cathode that integrates the temperature regulation system, which is that ultrathin layer of nickel that we have mentioned (and that allows recharge time is 10 minutes).

"Our fast-charging technology works for most energy-dense batteries and will open up a new possibility of downsizing electric vehicle batteries from 150 to 50 kWh without driving range anxiety," he said. Smaller, faster-charging batteries will dramatically reduce battery costs and the use of critical raw materials like cobalt, graphite and lithium, enabling the mass adoption of affordable electric cars.

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