Ultra-fast charging for electric cars in 2027
The progress made in recent years by car manufacturers with regard to electric cars is undeniable: compared to a few years ago, today's electric cars are much more efficient in using the energy stored in batteries and consequently can travel much further between charges. The sore point always comes at the time of refilling, which is still considered very slow, too slower than the time spent at the petrol pump to fill up with fuel. Fortunately, all over the world there are no longer research teams committed to finding technical solutions related to ultra-fast charging, which allow to drastically reduce charging times, and according to some experts as early as 2027 we could have electric cars able to return to 90% charge in just 10 minutes.Today the technical limit is given by the type of batteries used: the lithium-ion batteries typical of today's electric cars tend to get damaged if recharged too quickly, becoming less resistant over time and leading, soon or later, a battery replacement which, as we all know, accounts for about 50% of the car's value.
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The ultra-fast charging protocol would also have already been defined, and would allow a lithium-ion battery to be recharged in just a few minutes, unfortunately however, this type of technology is still a long way from its arrival on the market, estimated by The Washington Post in about 5 years.
The advent of this charging technology will represent a real turning point for all electric mobility : on the one hand, many more people will be able to approach an electric vehicle even for long journeys, given the drastically reduced charging time, and on the other hand electric cars will drop significantly in price, given that manufacturers will not need to install large battery packs, knowing that recharging takes place in such a short time. Furthermore, reducing the size of the battery also drastically reduces its weight, which is directly reflected in the overall weight of the car: a lighter car consumes less energy to move and therefore offers more miles of range.
EVs Could Charge In 10 Minutes By 2027, Cutting Costs And Journey Times
EVs have come a long way in the past decade. More specifically, new electric vehicles can actually go a long way, unlike their predecessors. The one sticking point for some buyers has been that it still takes longer to charge an EV mid-journey than it does to slosh 15 gallons of gas into an ICE vehicle’s tank.
And if you’re the kind of person who prefers to splash and dash than spend 20-30 minutes hanging around eating pastries and getting fat while you wait for your car to take on board the energy needed to do the next 200 miles (322 km) of a journey, that’s a pain. But experts say the next generation of EVs could recharge to 90 percent in as little as 10 minutes.
If the lithium-ion batteries in current EVs are charged too quickly they can be damaged, reducing the lifespan of the battery and requiring costly replacement. But a group of researchers has used machine learning techniques to study how batteries age when charging at high speed and used that info to help boost charging times safely.
By studying the results from up to 30,000 data points they created a charging protocol that would enable ultra-fast charging without damaging the battery itself. The downside is that the technology is around 5 years away from becoming publicly available, The Washington Post reports.
Report: Ford Shows Off Prototype Charging Station That Automatically Plugs In To Your EV
Lithium-ion batteries can be damaged if charged too quickly“Fast charging is the key to increasing consumer confidence and overall adoption of electric vehicles,” says Eric Dufek, Ph.D., who is presenting the result of the study at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. “It would allow vehicle charging to be very similar to filling up at a gas station.”
Producing batteries that can be charged faster won’t just help reduce journey times for inter-state travelers. It will also make EVs cheaper and more efficient. Cheaper, because carmakers could potentially offer vehicles with smaller batteries because the reduction in range would be offset by the ability to charge more quickly.
That would help drivers who don’t routinely need to cover large distances make the switch to electric power. And since the majority of an EV’s weight problem is down to the battery, reducing the size of the pack also reduces curb weight, meaning the motor needs to draw less energy to move it down the road.
Would you be more keen to switch to an EV if it charged in 10 minutes or are you already in an EV and happy to wait 20 minutes or more to top up? Leave a comment and let us know.