Electric Vehicles are an important technology that would help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, local air pollution, and vehicular noise pollution. But, charging times are a hugely important factor when it comes to driving the adoption of electric vehicles.
Fast charge capability can accelerate the mass adoption of EVs. Swiss engineering company ABB has what it says is the world’s fastest electric vehicle charger, capable of fully charging an electric car in 15 minutes or less.
Now, a U.S. startup Enovix has developed the next generation 3D Silicon Lithium-ion battery design that can be nearly completely recharged in under 10 minutes. The company has demonstrated the ability of its 0.27 Ah Electric Vehicle (EV) test cells to charge from 0-80% state-of-charge in as little as 5.2 minutes and achieve a greater than 98% charge capacity in less than 10 minutes while maintaining high cycle life.
As part of the company’s three-year Department of Energy grant program that is pairing a 100% active silicon anode with EV-class cathode materials, the company recently announced its cells surpassed 1,000 cycles while retaining 93% of their capacity. Testing also demonstrated that after six months at elevated temperatures, Enovix batteries had a minimal capacity loss. This pairing is projecting a calendar life of greater than 10 years for Enovix batteries.
“Fast charge capability can accelerate mass adoption of EVs, and we’ve been able to demonstrate a level of performance that meets and exceeds many OEM roadmaps,” said Harrold Rust, Co-Founder, CEO, and President of Enovix. “EV manufacturers are in pursuit of batteries that support longer range, while the public and private sectors work to increase EV driver access to fast chargers. We’re proud to support these goals to help electrify the automotive industry and demonstrate our batteries are an exciting option to power long-range, fast-charging EVs.”
