Polestar, the high performance and electric brand that grew out of Volvo, is not merely rapidly expanding its new model line-up (the updated 2 is just arriving, the 3 and 4 are imminent), it’s also working hard on new battery technology that could make running an electric car even easier.
Ten minutes to 80 per cent
To do that, Polestar has been working with the rapid-charging experts at StoreDot. They’ve created a big battery that can be charged from 10 to 80 percent in as little as ten minutes.
Running at a DC charge of 370kW, this battery - called an XFC design, which uses more silicon than current designs - is capable of adding as much as 320km of extra range in that same ten minutes. Most notably, this is not some bench-test experimental single-cell prototype battery. While it’s not quite a production-ready battery yet, what we’re talking about here is a big 77kWh battery pack fitted to a prototype Polestar 5 high-performance saloon (another new Polestar model, due for launch next year).
More silicon than current designs
Overall, the battery’s charging speed was a hefty 310kW (easily achievable from the best current DC chargers) and it peaked at the magic 370kW early in the charge cycle. The use of more silicon in the battery’s chemistry, says StoreDot, allows the battery to be as energy dense as the most cutting-edge current lithium-ion designs, but it doesn’t need as much cooling, and there’s an added benefit in that they can be integrated into the structure of the car, increasing overall vehicle strength and reducing weight.
Like filling up a petrol car
Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, said: “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. 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.”
The idea is that, by cutting the normal 10-80 per cent charge time by two-thirds (from 30 minutes to just ten) that Polestar can get closer to offering a long-range electric car that refuels almost as quickly as a petrol vehicle. The extra speed works across the battery range, too. For instance, if you fancied a quick top-up, you could charge it from 50 to 80 per cent in just five minutes.
Impressive achievement
Dr Doron Myersdorf, CEO of StoreDot, said: "We are very excited to share this impressive achievement today and proud to be on this journey with Polestar. Polestar’s commitment acknowledges that extreme fast charging technology is 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 as drivers will be able to travel long distances with the same freedom and convenience as traditional fossil fuel-powered vehicles."