Ultra-fats, super-quick EV charging systems for electric car batteries

NASA, Formula E, and university scientists are developing new technologies to improve EV charging batteries

• Starting in 2016, a team of scientists led by Chao-Yang Wang has been developing a self-regulating temperature technology for EV batteries that deliver 70% of the charge in 11 minutes for 2,000 cycles of fast charging;
• The NASA research department enables a heating system to maintain average temperatures in space and have low weight and compact size, which can become a solution for our DCFC and EV batteries;
• Formula E developed an ultra-fast EV charging station that delivers 600 kWh, allows their cars to speed up to 85 miles in 2-3 seconds, and can be helpful for EV station manufacturers.

Almost 60% of Americans have considered buying an electric car, and those who already own one would definitely pick an EV in the future. But here is the tricky thing - as much as we welcome the new EV transition era and new technologies, we still fear the unfamiliar territory of owning an electric car. The biggest challenges are charging stations, charging speed, and issues regarding battery lifespan. 

We have a long way to go until EVs become mainstream for every city, town, and state in the USA, but until then, our country is working hard on developing new technologies to improve EV batteries and their charging speed. 

One bright team of engineers from Pennsylvania State University is on their way to creating batteries that can charge in 10 minutes! Picture this - people spend around 3-5 minutes at gas stations to fuel their ICE cars, including the time to pay and grab a coffee or a snack. Can you imagine how convenient it will be for people to spend 10 minutes charging their electric cars, including coffee and snack time, without changing their regular routines? 

It may seem futuristic, as we currently have around 140,000 public charging points, and only 21,676 are DCFC. Our public infrastructure has a long way to go, but people are not discouraged and work hard on upgrading our EV charging technologies.

Starting in 2016, a team of scientists led by Chao-Yang Wang has been developing a self-regulating temperature technology for EV batteries. This is one of the best solutions for a public EV charger, as it solves the problem of charging electric car batteries in cold climates. The newly developed system works with the help of a nickel foil that warms up quickly and allows EV batteries to heat up, avoiding their deterioration. The same technology was upgraded through the years, and the nickel-foil system was improved to deliver high energy density and heat in 30 seconds through a cooling down method. 

The scientist created a battery prototype that can add 200-300 miles in under 10 minutes, compared to a maximum of 80 miles range per hour for a regular Level 2 charger. Of course, they didn't stop there. The Pennsylvania group had improved the energy density to 265 Wh/kg when the last one was 209 Wh/kg. 

Now to the best part! It is estimated that this battery will deliver 70% of the charge in 11 minutes for 2,000 cycles of fast charging. We expect to have soon very compact, energy-dense, and less expensive electric car batteries that we can use in manufacturing.

We have known for years that NASA has been using the latest technology in space. Guess what? They finally want to share a part of their knowledge with us! We are talking about a cooling technology that allows EV batteries to transfer energy-dense temperatures for fast charging. Of course, NASA continues to advance its nuclear fission power systems and vapor compression heat pumps, but they plan to fly to Mars or the Moon, so we don't expect this kind of power in our electric car batteries. 

The NASA research department enables the heating systems to maintain average temperatures in space and have low weight and compact size. Perfect solution for our DCFC on Earth. We won't go into the details about their subcooled flow boiling techniques, but this can become the most effective EV charging standard yet developed.

Formula E competitors have been working on the same problems for years. But compared to other battery manufacturers and scientists, Formula E participants want more - an ultra-fast EV charging station that delivers 600 kWh and allows their cars to speed up to 85 miles in 2-3 seconds. And they already have this system! Unfortunately, we need more time to borrow and develop the same charging solutions as Formula E racers use today because they are super expensive. 

For now, we wait for American EV charging companies to embrace new technologies from other sources and make them publicly accessible for all EV drivers. Let's hope that commercial electric charging stations will soon be packed with ultra-fast chargers and their number will outgrow the number of gas stations on the roads.