Industry News: EV auto batteries recharged full in 6 minutes!

[G. David Felt]

Echion Technologies is addressing today's biggest challenge for electric vehicles is the speed at which the battery is recharged. Current technology pretty much has your 300 mile battery recharging in 45 minutes to 1 hour.

In 2017 Toshiba came out with a battery that goes into production for select new EVs that come out at the end of 2019 with general availability in 2020. The Generation 1 SCiB battery was 200 miles in 6 min and with generation 2 they have now made it 353 miles fully recharged in 6 min. 

Now we have Echion Technologies that has come up with a unique material solution for Lithium-ion batteries.

According to the interview by Cambridge Independent newspaper Dr. Jean De La Verpilliere was studying at the University of Cambridge for his PhD in nanoscience when he created a material that could be used in Lithium batteries.

His focus and expertise on high performance materials innovations for lithium brought about the following benefits that current batteries in current EVs do not have.

• Ultra-fast charge - Re-charge of Li-ion batteries in a matter of minutes.
• High energy - No sacrifice of energy for power
• Sustainable - Materials are entirely sustainable
• Safe - Fast charge without dangerous lithium dendrites
• Cost-effective - NO expensive or rare feedstocks needed

The benefit of this new material according to Echion Technologies is that this patented technology material will help to drive the global electrification movement across the supply chain.  The benefit is that this material simply drops into the existing battery manufacturing infrastructure with no capital cost.

Per the interview by Cambridge Indepenent is that they have replaced graphite with their own mass produced neutral material. One of the biggest benefits here is that current Li-ion batteries can explode when re-charged too fast. With the Echion material you have no explosion at any speed of charging.

People will remember the Samsung Note 7 nightmare of exploding batteries. This was the push by Cambridge and various scientist who were researching various options for safer battery charging. Dr. De La Verpilliere was the one to figure out a non-explosive material that could replace the solid and liquid current design of Lithium batteries.

With the startup of Echion Technologies they are taking their 1,000 tonnes manufactured a day and scale it as they work with various OEMs in building new next generation Lithium solid state batteries.

Echion Technologies was funded by Cambridge Enterprise and NewablePrivate Investing. They have since been joined by Vantage Power, a company that designs and manufactures electric and hybrid systems for Buses and commercial goods vehicles.

Backed with money and now working with various OEM vendors, Echion says their battery technology will show up in various EVs from consumer cars / CUV / Trucks to commercial applications and should bring the recharge time down to you going inside to get a cup of coffee, pay for it and walk back out and be ready to hit the road.

Echion Technologies Founding Team

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[riviera74]

WOW.  When can these new batteries go into our cars and smartphones and tablets and laptops?!

[Drew Dowdell]

6 minutes for what capacity though? 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, riviera74 said:

WOW.  When can these new batteries go into our cars and smartphones and tablets and laptops?!

According to their press releases, they are working with a wide range of OEMs in current various phases of testing to go full production and we should see various products based on this technology across the technology portfolio of smartphones to auto's in 2020.

27 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

6 minutes for what capacity though? 

Their web site says for current EVs, if using this material those battery packs would be 6 min or less depending on capacity.

So a 6 min charge for a 239 mile BOLT or  6 min charge for a 300 mile tesla maybe???? ?

That is unclear and I emailed off to their inquiry email address asking for clarification on the 6 minutes for auto recharging.