Newly Developed EV Batteries Will Charge In Just 10 Mins, Make EVs More Affordable

Researchers have developed a novel EV battery tech that can charge an EV battery in just ten minutes, paving the way for the mass adoption of much more affordable electric vehicles.

Representational image: Unsplash

The technology has been developed by researchers from Penn State and it¡¯s based on internal thermal modulation -- an active method of temperature control to pull the best performance possible from the battery.

Researchers explain that batteries operate most efficiently when they're hot, but not too hot. Keeping the temperature consistent at the perfect sweet spot has been a challenging endeavour for battery engineers.

Researchers in the past have relied on external, large heating and cooling systems for battery temperature management, which doesn¡¯t really work as promptly and also ends up wasting energy along the way.

Researchers from Penn State, however, decided to try a different approach -- regulate the temperature from inside the battery. For this, they created a new battery structure with an ultrathin nickel foil as the fourth component alongside anode, cathode and electrolyte.

Nickel, acting like a stimulus, self-regulated the battery¡¯s temperature and reactivity that allowed for 10-minute fast charging on any EV battery type.

Chao-Yang Wang, the William E. Diefenderfer Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Penn State and lead author on the study, explained, "The need for smaller, faster-charging batteries is greater than ever. There are simply not enough batteries and critical raw materials, especially those produced domestically, to meet anticipated demand."

Representational Image: Unsplash

Wang added, "Our fast-charging technology works for most energy-dense batteries and will open a new possibility to downsize electric vehicle batteries from 150 to 50 kWh without causing drivers to feel range anxiety. The smaller, faster-charging batteries will dramatically cut down battery cost and usage of critical raw materials such as cobalt, graphite and lithium, enabling mass adoption of affordable electric cars."

Researchers in the study conclude stating that true fast-charging batteries could have an immediate impact, as there are not enough raw materials for every internal combustion engine car to be replaced by a 150kWh-equipped EV, fast charging is imperative for EVs to become mainstream.

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