One of the main reasons that prevent conventional car buyers from choosing electric cars is a lengthy charging time. Often people dismiss even the Tesla V3 Supercharger as too slow because it can’t refuel a 2007 Toyota Corolla in 1.5 minutes.
However, things could change a lot in 2020, thanks to an English start-up called Echion Technologies. The company is working hard towards current technologies and resources to make the charging of electric vehicles an instantaneous task.
Dr. Jean De La Verpilliere, the founder of the startup, aims to bring the charging time of electric vehicles from tens of minutes to only 6. Here’s how they plan to do it.
Electric Cars To Be Recharged In 6 Minutes, Thanks To Echion
According to the website Echion Technologies, the lithium-ion batteries are quite the bottlenecks. They can hold a small amount of charge and are pricey in nature. The startup boldly claims: “We aim to lift these limitations using patented technologies.”
Echion tech is currently operating at “Pilot Scale.” The product of the startup can simply be dropped into the lithium-ion battery pack to improve its performance at no extra capital cost.
The startup replaces the graphite in conventional batteries with another material which brings the charging time to just 6 minutes. According to a manager at the Echion technologies, the production of this substance will begin very soon as the company is setting up a dedicated facility for it.
Echion aims to manufacture around 1,000 tonnes of this product in a single plant. Echion will soon collaborate with battery manufacturers to bring this technology into the mass market.
Electric Cars Are Embracing Fast Charging
The next big step for the EV manufacturers is to improve the capabilities of the lithium-ion batteries and that includes decreasing the charging time significantly. The upcoming Lotus Evija, which is set for a 2021 launch, is rumored to feature 800 kW charging capability which will completely juice up the car’s battery in just 9 minutes.
Furthermore, the Porsche Taycan will also come with a 300 kW charging capability a year after its launch. Lastly, Tesla with its V3 Supercharger aims to decrease the charging time significantly.
As the adoption of electric cars increases, the fast-charging capabilities of such vehicles will also improve. Tesla’s recent acquisition of Maxwell Technology to improve the cost of production of lithium-ion batteries should be enough proof that a battery revolution is on the way.
