30-second “charging” of electric cars will become reality in Formula E

Initially planned for this year in Formula E, recharging sports electric cars at 600 kW, allowing them to refuel in 10 minutes and recover 4 kWh in 30 seconds, will not be happening right away. The organizers were forced to postpone its launch due to technical difficulties.

Charging electric cars still remains a very important, even capital, subject. And for good reason, it is this point which still seems to deter many motorists and which prevents them from getting started.

Ultra-fast charging

However, there are now more and more terminals around the world, and particularly in France, where there are well over the 100,000 mark. And the network continues to expand over the years. Moreover, their power is also constantly increasing, while the most efficient claims no less than 360 kW at Lidl. But other operators go even further, such as Nio and Huawei, not to mention Lotus.

We discover terminals capable of reaching 600 kW of power, allowing an electric car to be recharged from 10 to 80% in less than 10 minutes. But the world of competition, which also serves as a real laboratory, is not forgotten either, quite the contrary. This is all the more the case since the advent of Formula E, this race inspired by F1, which pits 100% electric single-seaters against each other.

These also continue to evolve, while the organizers have notably introduced battery swap in 2018, similar to what Nio offers. But that’s not all, because the federation also wants to make available high-power charging while running. The latter should normally have been inaugurated last weekend during the race in Misano, Italy.

However, this was not the case, due to technical difficulties which mean that this device is not yet ready, as reported by the American site Electrek. The latter indicates that this device, called Attack Charge was supposed to arrive in the middle of the season, but will finally be launched a few races later.

Some technical difficulties

And indeed, technical concerns relating to the construction of the equipment necessary for recharging. Because the latter must be able to deliver a very high power, displayed at 600 kW, the equivalent of the terminals developed by the Chinese company Huawei. The latter then allows a battery to be recharged to 4 kWh in just 30 seconds.

So a 54 kWh Formula E pack can in theory be recharged in less than seven minutes. For comparison, the Zeekr 001, which is one of the fastest electric cars when it comes to charging, requires 11 minutes at a power of 520 kW.

Currently, the Formula E regulations provide for an “Attack Mode”, which allows enjoy a boost of a few minutes. The latter must therefore normally be replaced by the “Attack Charge”, which should allow you to take advantage of this power gain by switching to the standards for rapid recharging. This system can then be applied to use by the general public after having been tested and put to the test on the circuits.

Because before that, engineers will have to ensure that this technology is sufficiently reliable for competition, where conditions are often much more demanding.