Polestar demonstrated charging an electric car in 10 minutes (2 photos + 1 video)
The technology involves recharging batteries from 10 to 80% in just 10 minutes. The model of the presented car, Polestar 5, should go into production in 2025, but whether it will feature new ultra-fast charging technology has not yet been specified.
The prototype was equipped with a 77-kilowatt battery built using Extreme Fast Charging (XFC) technology, developed by the Israeli company StoreDot. The battery is distinguished by the extensive use of silicon in the anode instead of graphite. According to the developers, this will increase energy storage density and battery life.
Polestar's public test was supposed to show not only the functionality of the technology. The company has clearly proven that the latest batteries are ready for integration into the design of current electric cars and are able to interact with the existing charging infrastructure. However, such fast charging requires a DC station with a power of at least 350 kW.
Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said that the development of StoreDot is approaching the time when owners of electric cars will spend no more time charging them than owners of cars with internal combustion engines spend refueling.
The Polestar demonstration took place almost simultaneously with the announcement of the Chinese company CATL, which also presented a new battery. The Shenxing Plus lithium iron phosphate battery, according to the developers, is capable of replenishing energy reserves at a speed of a kilometer per second - it will take only 10 minutes to gain energy for a run of 600 km. According to CATL calculations, the use of Shenxing Plus on production electric vehicles will allow them to achieve a power reserve of 1000 km.