Many times there has been talk of a revolution in the field of automotive batteries, more or less rightly, but in this case we are potentially facing a real turning point. As announced last November, Polestar and the startup StoreDot have carried out the first “extremely” fast charging experiment on a Polestar 5 prototypethe electric coupé sedan that will debut next year, demonstrating the ability to charge the 77 kWh battery pack from 10 to 80% charge in just 10 minutes.
The technology is StoreDot’s According to what was communicated by the two companies, the charging was carried out on a complete and drivable Polestar 5 prototype, and constitutes the first ever demonstration of XFC technology on a real car, compared to the tests carried out so far on cells in the laboratory . A video of the test is available at this address.
Beyond the charging speed data, which is already significant in itself, a very interesting aspect, according to what was communicated by Polestar and StoreDot, is the power curve obtained during the process: the charging power in fact started from 310 kW with a charging level of 10%, reaching up to 370 kW with the battery at 80%. Those who have experience in charging electric vehicles know that the power usually drops significantly as the battery charge level increases. Here we are faced with an opposite trend. StoreDot has developed new modules characterized by a structure capable of ensuring heat dissipation and at the same time offering a reduction in the weight of the battery pack. Overheating of the cells, as well as of the wiring, is the main limit to maintaining such high powers throughout the entire charging process.
A slowdown in charging, or rather a reduction in power, is however expected to further fill the battery, due to the battery cells reaching the maximum operating voltage. But in 10 minutes, Polestar writes, the technology allows you to add up to 320 km of autonomy to a car.
“Thanks to this new technology, on longer journeys, when drivers stop, they will be able to spend less time charging and get back on the road quicker than before. In fact, the dwell time will be more similar to what you experience today with a petrol car” said Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar.
Polestar has not yet confirmed whether the production version of the Polestar 5 will include StoreDot technology at launch. At the Polestar Day last November, StoreDot CEO Doron Myersdorf explained to us how the proprietary anode technology can potentially be combined with any type of cathode chemistry, but considering the initial costs it will be implemented mainly in NMC type batteries, already expensive than LFP ones.
