Most electric cars have long needed at least half an hour – sometimes even several hours – to fully charge, but one manufacturer says it can charge a car battery in the time it takes to fill a petrol or diesel tank. — dpa
LONDON: A British company says it has developed an electric car that can charge fully in less than six minutes, a new record in electric mobility, which still sees many owners waiting several hours for a full charge.
The heat accompanied with fast charging is often feared to lead to shorter battery life, however Nyobolt said it has tested its batteries for over 2,000 fast charge cycles without significant performance loss.
The company said its solution will go into production in early 2024, unlocking this “holy grail” for electric mobility through a proven six-minute charge using lithium-ion technology that is capable of immediate application and rapid scale-up.
Slow charging speeds remains a pain point in the adoption of electric vehicles globally and Nyobolt expects its charging performance – more than twice as fast as even the quickest charging cars on the road today – will help change this.
The Nyobolt prototype is a fully electric sports car which was engineered by respected designer Ian Callum and with styling by Julian Thomson who also penned the first-generation of the Lotus Elise.
The Nyobolt EV is something of a lightweight, weighing closer to one tonne rather than the two tonnes of its rivals. And while it can fast charge its 35kWh battery in a time that rivals the time spent pumping petrol or diesel, its range is rather limited at 250km.
The new battery is also cheaper to produce which means it could help bring down the high cost of electric cars, which experts say is putting many people off buying one.
No electric car has been able to match the convenience of petrol refuelling, with the result that most electric vehicle batteries are big, heavy and costly, with EV costs unreachable for some buyers and with vehicles often weighing over two tonnes. – dpa
