The world’s largest battery maker is making electric cars more appealing to hesitant buyers by offering a five-minute charging time with a decent range that gives drivers the same lightning-fast experience they get at a gas station. I’m trying to make it into something similar.
Currently, EV charging times range from 20 minutes to over 50 hours, depending on the type and speed of the charger and the vehicle’s battery capacity.
Some battery manufacturers have recently announced batteries that can charge up to 80 percent in less than 10 minutes, and say advances in technology will soon bring a 5-minute charge that could revolutionize the EV driving experience.
However, experts point out that excessive ultra-fast charging can lead to premature battery life and increase the risk of battery fires due to overheating during less than 10 minutes of charging.
Additionally, the lack of super-fast charging is just one of the current concerns for drivers considering purchasing an EV. Other factors include a lack of convenient public charging points for long-distance car trips, the cost of purchasing and maintaining EVs with uncertain incentives, and expensive battery replacements.
10 minute charging breakthrough
Chinese battery makers are leading the race for ultra-fast charging as their lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells are less susceptible to overheating than the nickel-cobalt chemistry found in their South Korean competitors’ batteries. There is.
In April, China’s Hyundai Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL), the world’s largest battery manufacturer that supplies batteries to Tesla, BMW, etc., announced the world’s first LFP with a cruising range of more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) on the 4C. announced the battery. Super fast charging.
Related: EV charging prices in Europe
According to CATL, the battery, called Shenxing PLUS, not only has a long range but also has a fast charging speed. The Chinese company says it can offer a range of 600 km (372 miles) after just 10 minutes of charging, and “delivers true ultra-fast charging speeds of 1 kilometer per second, far exceeding normal batteries available on the market.” .
Another Chinese battery maker, Gotion High-tech, announced in May its ultra-fast charging G-Current battery, which is ready for immediate mass production. According to the company, the battery can be charged to 80% in 9.8 minutes, and 90% in 15 minutes.
Gotion High-tech claims that “this solution can be applied to the entire range of battery applications, BEVs or hybrid vehicles, covering LFP, LMFP and NCM chemical systems.”
China is ahead
China’s focus on LFP gives it an advantage over Korean competitors such as LG Energy Solutions, Samsung SDI, and SK Innovation.
LFP cathodes are gaining popularity due to their low cost and thermal stability, said Yinchi Yang, a consultant in Wood Mackenzie’s battery materials services.
Unlike nickel-based cathodes, LFP cathodes do not contain expensive metals such as cobalt or nickel, making them an attractive option for manufacturers looking to reduce costs, Yang said.
South Korea’s LG Chem, the parent company of LG Energy Solutions, may have the answer to preventing batteries from overheating.
LG Chem announced last week that it has developed a temperature-responsive material to suppress thermal runaway. This material, about 1/100th the diameter of a human hair, is placed inside the battery cell and acts as a “fuse” to shut off the reaction path during the initial stages of overheating. The research breakthrough could be applied to mass production “in a short period of time,” said Chief Technology Officer Lee Jong-gu.
The executive said, “We will strengthen our safety technology so that customers can use electric vehicles with peace of mind, and further strengthen our competitiveness in the battery market.”
Future challenges
However, some experts argue that evidence shows that ultra-fast charging can shorten the lifespan of vehicle batteries, said Lee Hunkoo, director of South Korea’s Jeonbuk Automobile Fusion Technology Research Institute, at Financial. told the Times.
Additionally, charging speed is not the biggest concern for potential EV buyers, Lee said.
“Recent polls show that consumers think lower prices and longer range for EVs are more important than charging speed,” Lee told the FT. They want more charging facilities, not faster charging.”
Last month, the EY Mobility Consumer Index, an annual survey of consumers, found that despite record interest in EVs in 2023, U.S. consumers are likely to purchase an EV as their next car in 2024. Only 34% of US consumers said they intended to do so. Its share has decreased by 14 points. This is an increase of percentage points compared to last year’s survey, and “proves that EV education is not where it needs to be and that barriers to mass adoption of EVs still exist,” EY said.
Consumer confidence in America’s infrastructure is growing, but it’s been overshadowed by growing concerns about battery life and maintenance costs.
Expensive battery replacement is the biggest deterrent to purchasing an EV for U.S. consumers, surpassing a lack of charging stations for the first time, according to an EY study.
The study also shows that hybrid cars are growing in popularity, and this rise may be due to the overall versatility of these cars, adding: “Hybrid cars need to bridge a transition period.” This proves that it is possible,” EY added.
Written by Tsvetana Paraskova, Oilprice.com
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