By D. Maan, Jadetimes News
Nyobolt's Electric Car Battery Charges in Under Five Minutes During Track Test
UK start up Nyobolt has successfully demonstrated an electric car battery that charges from 10% to 80% in just four minutes and 37 seconds. This was achieved using a specially built concept sports car on a test track in Bedford, as part of industry wide efforts to speed up electric vehicle (EV) charging times. In comparison, a Tesla supercharger can charge a car battery to 80% in 15 to 20 minutes.
Experts believe that eliminating "range anxiety" is crucial for increasing EV adoption, but also emphasize the need for improved charging infrastructure. "Developing technology that enables people to charge more quickly, similar to the time it currently takes to refuel a car, is really important," said Paul Shearing, Professor of Sustainable Energy Engineering at Oxford University. However, he noted that more chargers of all types are necessary. "People are going to want fast charging infrastructure, independent of what car they’re using everyone wants to do this more quickly," he added.
The Nyobolt battery, fitted to a sports car tested over two days this week, achieved a range of 120 miles after a four minute charge. A Tesla charged to 80% typically has a range of up to 200 miles. Dr. Sai Shivareddy, co founder of Nyobolt, expressed satisfaction with the results but admitted the tests were “nerve wracking.” The live demo, conducted in front of an invited audience of industry professionals, faced challenges such as the UK heatwave, a failure in the concept car’s cooling system, and the use of a standard on site charger not made by Nyobolt. These issues prevented the firm from replicating laboratory results, which claim the battery can charge from 0% to 100% in six minutes.
Despite these challenges, Dr. Shivareddy described the event as “a big milestone for electrification” and joked that his own car was still charging after being plugged in earlier that day. Nyobolt does not plan to manufacture its own vehicles but intends to partner with existing car brands, with the battery potentially available in EVs “at small scale” within a year. The powerful 350kW DC superfast chargers required for this battery are publicly available in the UK but are not yet widespread. Nyobolt also claims it has minimized degradation, stating that the battery still charges to 80% after 4,000 cycles. A full cycle is a charge from 0 to 100%, but this does not have to occur all at once; for example, two 50% charges would count as one cycle. For comparison, Apple says the iPhone 15 battery will maintain 80% functionality after 1,000 cycles.
Global Race for Better Batteries, Power, Weight, and Durability
There is a global race to develop faster charging batteries that are more powerful, lighter, and more durable. Last year, Toyota announced a technical breakthrough that would allow it to develop a solid state battery capable of charging in ten minutes and lasting 1,200 km (754 miles). Meanwhile, US start up Gravity has developed a compact charger that can add 200 miles of range to an electric vehicle in under 13 minutes.
However, Dr. Edward Brightman, a lecturer in chemical engineering at Strathclyde University, pointed out that while rapid charging is beneficial for long journeys, the real barrier to widespread electric vehicle adoption lies in the supporting infrastructure. "Electric cars really aren’t limited by the batteries anymore," he said. "We urgently need to upgrade the grid and deploy rapid chargers with the capability to deliver the charge to the battery."