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Nyobolt's sports car just tested a new generation of super-fast charging batteries |
That's much faster than the current 20 minutes or so it takes some electric vehicles using fast chargers like the Tesla ( TSLA ) Supercharger, and about as fast as it takes to fill up a gas tank for a gasoline-powered car.
Nyobolt's technology builds on a decade of research led by University of Cambridge battery scientist Clare Grey and Cambridge graduate Shivareddy, the company said.
The key to the batteries' ability to charge super fast without significantly reducing their lifespan is a design that helps them generate less heat. It also makes them safer, since overheating can cause lithium-ion batteries to catch fire and explode.
Additionally, the material used to make the battery's anode allows for faster electron transfer.
Nyobolt is currently in talks to sell the battery to eight electric car manufacturers. At 35 kWh, the battery is much smaller than the 85 kWh in a typical American electric vehicle (EV).
However, this technology can be used in larger battery packs in the future. This new generation of rechargeable batteries has partly overcome a major drawback of electric vehicles currently on the market: long charging times, causing inconvenience for car owners traveling long distances.
Independent testing of Nyobolt batteries by a leading global manufacturer found that they can achieve more than 4,000 fast-charge cycles, equivalent to 965,600 km, while still retaining more than 80% of their capacity, Nyobolt said.
“This is many times higher than the warranty period of today’s larger EV batteries,” the company notes.
William Kephart, an electric vehicle expert at consultancy P3 Group and a former engineer, said the EV battery Nyobolt is developing could theoretically charge as fast as the company promises, but the challenge is to produce it on an industrial scale.
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