For UK battery startup Neobolt, six seems to be the magic number. First, in June it demonstrated an EV that could be fully charged in just six minutes (a claimed record). And today it unveiled a new type of Supercharger that can be recharged in – you guessed it – six minutes.
Named the Bolt-E, it essentially looks like a metal box on four wheels with an interactive touchscreen for a face. Unlike fixed charging stations, this fast-charging, direct current, 300kW device is completely mobile.
“The Bolt-E can approach any vehicle parked in a bay and travel up to 100 miles in less than 10 minutes, with a battery life of more than 10,000 charging cycles,” the company told TNW. Is.”
The Bolt-E was designed to solve one of the biggest obstacles preventing the widespread adoption of electric cars – the lack of charging infrastructure.
Globally, 14% of all new cars sold in 2022 were electric, up from 9% in 2021. In Europe, the figure is higher at 22%.
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However, the increasing demand for EVs risks outpacing the supply of the technology needed to charge them. In 2021, there were an estimated 375,000 public charging stations in the EU, but experts estimate it will need to build at least 3 million new ones by 2030.
Progress has been delayed due to hurdles such as planning permissions, lengthy construction work and connection to the grid.
Bolt-E seeks to remove these barriers. It works like a giant power bank – but for your car. In addition to being used in homes, car parks and gas stations, the startup says the mobile charger can also be placed on recovery vehicles to help drivers stranded on the side of the road because they’ve run out of water.
“Nybolt’s ready-to-deploy technology, which will go into production in early 2024, will help accelerate EV adoption – especially for drivers who want to charge at home,” said Professor, the company’s chief scientist and co-founder. May not be able to.” Claire Grey.
NyoVolt’s Lotus Elise-inspired EV produces 450bhp and can be fully charged in just 6 minutes. The car was built to showcase the company’s ultra-fast-charging battery technology. Credit: Nybolt
Founded in 2020, Nybolt has already secured nearly $100 million in funding, according to data from Dealroom. It operates an anode-manufacturing facility in Cambridge, UK, and recently opened a new battery factory in Boston, US.
In June, the startup unveiled an electric sports car concept based on the Lotus Elise that could be fully recharged in less than six minutes. The car was fitted with a lightweight battery pack developed by Nybolt which provides a claimed range of approximately 250 km on a single charge.
Steve Hutchins, vice president of engineering at Neobolt, said his team charged and discharged their batteries more than 2500 times at an incredibly fast rate, reducing the battery’s ability to hold electricity to less than 15%.
You might be wondering how is this possible? Basically, it comes down to manipulating lithium-ion batteries to accept more electrical charge in less time.
“To put out a lot of power, you need to get a lot of current through it. “To get very high current, a lot of charge needs to flow in and out of the materials,” explains Sai Shivareddy, co-founder and CEO of Neobolt.
Essentially, Nybolt has invented a new type of material to accommodate that level of power – but is keeping quiet on the details.
In an industry where range anxiety and slow charging times still remain a significant hurdle, a battery with a six-minute charging time could be a game-changer. However it remains to be seen whether these battery packs can be scaled up to millions of units.
Source: thenextweb.com
