New battery technology could give electric cars more than 200 miles of charge in as little as 10 minutes, according to new research.
Lithium ion batteries have had a dramatic impact because of their ability to store a large amount of energy in a small, compact battery and be recharged again and again. A trio of scientists were awarded the Nobel prize in chemistry for their contributions to the development of the batteries earlier this month.
The team developed a battery that uses thin nickel foil to create an internal self-heating structure. By heating the battery to 60⁰C, then cooling it to room temperature, they were able to charge the battery to 80% in 10 minutes but avoid damaging it, even when repeatedly charged in this way. A Tesla Model S currently takes 40 minutes to charge from a flat battery to 80% using a supercharger.
While the team used single cells of smaller capacity, about 10 Ampere-hours, in their study, they say the technology could be applied to develop a battery for an electric car.
Dr Chao-Yang Wang, a professor at the Pennsylvania State University and co-author of the study said, “The future looks bright. Our technology is simple but elegant. I guess that it will take two to three years of in-vehicle testing and evaluation before it is used in commercial vehicles.”
The interesting point is that it suggests that the positive effects of heating – reduced lithium plating – outweigh the considerable degradation processes that kick in at higher temperatures,”. But, there is a long way to go, saying that the approach now needs to be scaled up to larger battery packs while there could be other degradation mechanisms that need to be considered. But, it’s important to challenge conventional wisdom and come up with innovative approaches.