One of the most popular electric car brands has unveiled plans to “revolutionise” EV charging through a new partnership guaranteeing ultra-fast charging.
Swedish electric vehicle manufacturer Polestar will soon bring extreme fast charging (XFC) technology to production.
StoreDot’s “100-in-5” technology will see 100 miles - or 160km – of charge delivered in just five minutes of being plugged in.
The benefit of the new technology is that it can be integrated into battery pack formats that are already available.
The Polestar 5 could be released next year
POLESTAR
This removes fears about completely redesigning the battery pack to guarantee fast charging speeds, according to the Israeli battery specialists.
Announced at Polestar Day in Los Angeles, the XFC pouch was demonstrated alongside Polestar’s prototype battery.
It is hoped two companies will be able to roll out the fast charging capabilities at full scale in a Polestar 5 prototype next year.
Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, praised the partnership between the Swedish car brand and StoreDot, saying it would “revolutionise” charging.
“StoreDot is making huge strides forward in the development of their extreme fast charging technology and we are a proud investor and partner in its evolution.
“StoreDot’s pioneering extreme fast charging batteries, combined with our upcoming top-of-the-line electric powertrain, can revolutionise the ownership experience for EV owners with the ability to recharge in minutes.”
The Polestar 5, which has already been compared to the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S, is expected to be released as a production car in 2024.
It will offer dual electric motors with up to 884 horsepower, a “competitive” electric driving range and will focus on environmental sustainability.
Dr Doron Myersdorf, CEO of StoreDot, said charging anxiety would soon be “a thing of the past” with the new technology.
He added: “Polestar has been one of our key investors and collaborators as we develop our XFC technology.
“Next year we’ll show how a full-scale battery module developed by Polestar with this revolutionary technology can be charged.”
Range anxiety still remains a key issue for motorists who are looking at switching to electric cars, especially with further concerns around the UK’s charging network.
With the new “100-in-5” charging technology, drivers may have more faith in the range of the vehicle, as well as the knowledge that if they do need to recharge, it will take minutes rather than hours.
The latest data from Zapmap shows there are 51,516 electric vehicle charging points across more than 30,000 locations around the UK.
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StoreDot's XFC technology could be rolled out in Polestar models next year
STOREDOT
With the UK surpassing the 50,000 charger benchmark, there are hopes that 100,000 chargers will be in the ground by 2025.
It is not yet known whether the Government remains committed to its previous target of 300,000 public chargers by the end of the decade.
