EVs: 'Major breakthrough' in charging tech sees Polestar battery charged to 80% in just 10 minutes

A new breakthrough in charging technology could help revolutionise EV ownership, allowing drivers to charge up their car on the go almost as quickly as filling their tank at a petrol station.

Polestar - an electric vehicle manufacturer owned by Volvo - has managed to charge a prototype Polestar 5 from 10 to 80% battery life in just 10 minutes, it announced this week, using pioneering battery developer StoreDot’s extreme fast charging technology in a working car for the first time. The new technology could add 200 miles of range to a mid-sized electric car almost as quickly as pumping petrol, which the company believes could effectively eliminate a big issue slowing down EV uptake.

“Time is one of life’s greatest luxuries, and as a manufacturer of luxury electric performance cars, we need to take the next step to address one of the biggest barriers to EV ownership – charging anxiety,” Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said. “With this new technology, on longer journeys when drivers do stop they’ll be able to spend less time charging and be back on the road faster than before. In fact, that stop time will be more akin to what they experience with a petrol car today.”

A spokesperson told NationalWorld that the new technology could be ready for market in the next two to three years, but unfortunately would only be available in new models - and could not be retrofitted into older ones. But the good news was, rapid charging would be unlikely to cost consumers anything extra.

“The cost of electricity would be the same as charging any other way as the amount of electricity used is the same,” they said. However, extreme fast charging was more likely to be used as an out-of-home charging system to begin with - in places like service stations “for drivers needing to charge up quickly en route to final destination”.

The specially-commissioned battery pack from StoreDot has cells with silicon in them instead of graphite - which is capable of storing more energy. These batteries don’t require specialist cooling systems in the vehicle, nor will the new charging systems need an infrastructure overhaul - with the Polestar test showing extreme fast charging works with high-power DC chargers already available today.

StoreDot CEO Dr Doron Myersdorf said the company appreciated Polestar’s commitment to acknowledging that extreme fast charging technology was necessary, “to make widespread electric car adoption a reality”. “This breakthrough revolutionises ownership by eradicating the barrier of range and charging anxiety once and for all,” he added, “as drivers will be able to travel long distances with the same freedom and convenience as traditional fossil fuel-powered vehicles.”

The world has recently experienced its warmest year on record - with experts warning 2024 may be even hotter. Climate scientists have been urging the global community to radically cut down its greenhouse gas emissions - particularly those from burning fossil fuels - to prevent further warming, with each fraction of a degree further destabilising the Earth’s climate.

Switching to EVs has been mooted as one way to help eliminate emissions from transport. The UK government currently plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035, as part of its net zero by 2050 commitment.

New analysis released last month found that EVs do make a substantial difference to emissions over their lifetimes. Although their production does currently have a bigger carbon footprint, on average, than a new petrol vehicle, Scientific American reports, they will close the gap in just 2.2 years in the US - or four years in the UK.