Carmakers are in a hurry to “fix” two electric car battery issues that buyers are concerned with more than anything else. One is the range and the second is charging anxiety. [1] Drivers aren’t just worried about not having enough juice in the tank to get to their destination. They’re also concerned they’ll have to waste hours recharging their electric vehicles. That involves planning longer drivers to account for battery charging. The figure 1 shows the batteries.

Figure 1: The Car batteries

Several companies are working on batteries that offer more range than existing options, as well as battery packs that can recharge as fast as it takes to fill up a tank of gas. Tesla is one of the players working on new battery tech. Elon Musk’s company demoed a new 4680 battery last year that will improve range and power. And now, an Israeli company says it can manufacture 4680 batteries that need only 10 minutes to recharge.

Fast-charging of electric vehicles is seen as key to their take-up, so motorists can stop at a service station and fully charge their car in the time it takes to get a coffee and use the toilet – taking no longer than a conventional break.

But rapid charging of lithium-ion batteries can degrade the batteries, researchers at Penn State University in the US say. [2] This is because the flow of lithium particles known as ions from one electrode to another to charge the unit and hold the energy ready for use does not happen smoothly with rapid charging at lower temperatures.

However, they have now found that if the batteries could heat to 60°C for just 10 minutes and then rapidly cool again to ambient temperatures, lithium spikes would not form and heat damage would be avoided.

The company uses nanomaterials and organic and inorganic compounds in its lithium-ion batteries to make extreme fast charging possible. Metalloid nanoparticles like silicon replace the graphite in the cell’s anode. As a result, StoreDot has overcome safety, life cycle, and cell swelling issues that can appear from fast-charging processes.

StoreDot is setting up a production line in China with Eve Energy, the report notes. [3] It’s unclear which electric cars might get the new StoreDot 4680 batteries. Per The Times, StoreDot is in “advanced discussions” with several global automotive manufacturers with plans to “supply them with various XFC cells, enabling a rapid transition to a zero-emissions electrified future.”

Earlier this year, the company showed off prototypes, which picked up 100 miles of range in just five minutes on a charger, but full-scale production won't be ready to proceed until at least 2024. Interestingly, StoreDot also claims to have solid-state battery tech in development and says it will be ready for production in 2028.

The 4680 battery, as its name suggests, measures 46x80 mm, [4] which is larger than other cylindrical batteries produced in the past. Tesla announced its version of the battery a short while ago, but it also has yet to reach production. The automaker claimed to have been moving toward in-house production of the batteries, but acknowledged there is still a long way to go before volume production is possible.

References:

1. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/amazing-electric-car-battery-recharges-030728652.html
2. https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/future-technology-22-ideas-about-to-change-our-world/
3. https://bgr.com/tech/this-amazing-electric-car-battery-recharges-in-just-10-minutes/
4. https://www.techradar.com/news/this-electric-car-battery-recharges-in-10-minutes-so-why-isnt-it-in-todays-evs

Cite this article:

Vinotha D (2022), The Future of Car Batteries that Charge in 10 Minutes, AnaTechMaz, pp.100