Charging speeds are often a point of discussion with electric vehicles, and it seems Polestar are aggressively pursuing faster charging options in upcoming vehicles.
Polestar in partnership with fast-charging battery pioneer StoreDot have demonstrated Extreme Fast Charging (XFC) technology in a car for the first time. The Polestar 5 prototype was charged from 10-80% in just 10 minutes.
While it is a prototype, this is a fully drivable vehicle and while the peak charging rate reached 370 kW, perhaps the most impressive part is a consistent charge rate of at least 310 kW.
This is the world-first demonstration of a 10-minute 10-80% extreme fast charging using silicon-dominant cells. Many new battery technologies work well on the lab bench, but making it to commercialisation often face challenges.
Polestar’s specially commissioned 77 kWh battery pack has the potential to be increased to at least 100 kWh, could add 320 km of range to a mid-sized electric car in 10 minutes.
This XFC test by Polestar and StoreDot battery engineers was designed to demonstrate proof-of-concept for XFC battery technology that could be applied to future Polestar vehicles.
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.
Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO
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.
StoreDot’s XFC technology utilises silicon-dominant cells with an energy density on par with state-of-the-art NMC cells, and does not require specialist cooling systems in the vehicle. The experimental XFC battery’s modules have a structural function that improves mechanical properties and cooling ability while maintaining or reducing weight levels, with high recyclability and serviceability also paramount in the design of the pack.
In today’s commercial EV batteries, fast charging rates can vary greatly depending on the battery’s state of charge (SOC), sometimes dropping significantly as SOC increases. Importantly, the test proves XFC technology works with today’s DC charging infrastructure, which continues to feature more high-power DC chargers of 350 kW or higher.
This means drivers will be able to spend less time stopped to charge their vehicle, which for a 10-80% charge on many modern EVs could still take around 30 minutes.
By reducing that time to 10 minutes, the charging time for a vehicle is much closer to what you would experience when filling a car with petrol.
If you’re on a road trip and just need to grab a drink, the consistent charge speeds could see you jump from 50% SOC to 80% SOC in just 5 minutes.
We are very excited to share this impressive achievement today and proud to be on this journey with Polestar. Polestar’s commitment to acknowledge that extreme fast charging technology is necessary to make widespread electric car adoption a reality.
Dr Doron Myersdorf, CEO of StoreDot, comments:
This breakthrough revolutionises ownership by eradicating the barrier of range and charging anxiety once and for all as drivers will be able to travel long distances with the same freedom and convenience as traditional fossil fuel-powered vehicles.
A video of the testing procedure can be found here: https://www.polestar.com/global/news/how-we-charged-a-polestar-in-10-minutes/
