The Chinese company Funeng Technology is developing a semi-solid battery capable of recharging an electric car to 70% in just ten minutes. And it is not a crazy project but a reality, while the firm announces that it has started mass production.
Today there are several solutions for reducing the charging time of a car: reducing the size of the battery or increase the power she can take. The concern is that opting for the first solution also has the impact of reducing autonomy, although having a large accumulator is not always beneficial either. The second option is also difficult to implement, due to technical constraints related in particular to cooling and the risk of overheating.
The semi-solid battery as a solution
Admittedly, NASA has developed a cable cooled by a dielectric liquid (which then does not conduct current) making it possible to deliver up to 2,400 amps and recharge an electric car in five minutes. But this one is still far from production. One of the main solutions considered by manufacturers therefore remains the solid-state battery, which offers many advantages. Among them, a lower risk of overheating, allowing faster chargingas well as increased density increasing capacity and autonomy, for the same size compared to a conventional liquid electrolyte battery.
But there is a hitch. If this type of battery is very promising, it should not see the light of day on a production vehicle for a decade according to specialists, because of the difficulties of industrialization. In the meantime, manufacturers and equipment manufacturers are working on alternatives, including semi-solid batteries. A technology still in development but already produced in series by certain companies such as Dongfeng and WeLion, which equips the Nio ET5 and ET7.
But now another Chinese company arrives on the market, determined to fight it out and make a name for itself. It is Funeng Technology, which is also developing its own semi-solid state battery, which would also reduce the price gap between electric and thermal cars. As the Chinese site explains It Homethe company’s solution would even be very advanced.
Indeed, the mass production of these accumulators, that offer better energy density than standard lithium batteries retain a liquid electrolyte, has already begun. Several copies would even have already left the production lines of Funeng Technology in September. But for now, it is not yet known which models of electric cars will potentially be equipped with this technology, while the company has given no details.
Impressive charging speed
According to information from the Chinese media, the energy density of this technology known as SPS (Super Pouch Solution) would be 12% higher than that of the 4680 batteries developed by Tesla. The lifespan would also be three times longer. Several sizes of batteries will then be offered by the company, from 75 to 150 kWh, capable of reaching a range of 1,000 kilometers. A value that reminds us of the promise of several manufacturers, including Zeekr, which recently unveiled its 001.
If this is already very impressive, we must also mention the charging power. This could indeed greatly exceed 300 kW to reach 500 or even 600 kW. To be compared to the Tesla Model 3 caps at 250 kW, the maximum power delivered by the V3 Superchargers and which will increase to 350 kW with the V4. Thus, the 75 kW battery, with a capacity close to that of the sedan in its Long Range version, can be recharged from 10 to 80% in just 10 minutes. For comparison, the Model 3 requires between 25 and 30 minutes on the same exercise.
Thereby, Funeng Technology’s battery shows a 4C charge rate (which corresponds to the charging speed depending on the size of the battery, here 75 kWh, multiplied by four or 300 kW), also far exceeding the Kia EV6 with its 2.33C, which goes from 10 to 80% in 18 minutes. A figure achieved in part thanks to its 800 volt architecture allowing faster charging than with a standard 400 volt system. In peak, it is a safe bet that the semi-solid battery of Funeng Technology exceeds 500 kW.
But the Chinese company is not the only one to make great announcements. Indeed, the giant CATL is also developing a very promising battery, known as Qilin 3.0 CTP. It will equip electric cars from 2023 and can then be recharged in just ten minutes, thus displaying an identical charge rate of 4C. This then corresponds to an average power of 400 kW for a capacity of 100 kW. Even more impressive than the solution proposed by Funeng Technology, which would then make it possible to take advantage of the most powerful terminals in Europe, supplied by Circontrol and Fastned. In China, Nio is working on the development of charging points of up to 500 kW.
Nio officially unveils its new ultra-fast terminal, capable of charging an electric car in just 10 minutes. This new technology, with a power of 500 kW, will be available from March 2023, without…
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