Audi e-tron claims fast-charging win

Audi hasn’t named and shamed anyone, but its upcoming electric SUV threatens to ace its market rivals, the Tesla Model X, Mercedes-Benz EQ C and Jaguar I-PACE, for reduced recharging downtime.

The Audi e-tron will employ thermal management to tackle Tesla’s domination in the market.

Tesla models also feature a thermal management system, but Audi claims its system is highly efficient and allows DC (Direct Current) power to be inducted at the peak charging rate for longer, without excessive heat build-up.

According to Audi, the e-tron’s lithium-ion battery can recharge fully in half the time required by the competitors.

“The e-tron takes 45 minutes to charge to 100 per cent, and [an unnamed competitor] takes over one and a half hours,” says Silvia Gramlich, who heads up Development of Charging Time and Charging Efficiency at Audi.

“The thermal management is the key for that battery charging,” Ms Gramlich said through an interpreter.

The competitor initially charges at a fast rate, but that quickly tails off within about 10 minutes, whereas the e-tron 55 quattro can recharge at its fixed peak for a full half hour, before it too slows the rate of charging. For the final 20 per cent of battery charging, the e-tron whiles away 15 minutes – around half the time it takes for the battery to charge to 80 per cent.

It’s tortoise-and-hare stuff, with the Audi’s higher charging for longer delivering the tortoise-like faster finish. These times are based on charging the higher-performance Audi e-tron 55 quattro from a 150kW fast charger.

Tesla has established a network of superchargers (120kW DC) around Australia. Audi says the e-tron can draw up to 150kW from the high-output chargers available here. That’s 30kW more than the Teslas can draw from the brand’s own supercharger network.

There is a smattering of (non-Tesla) 350kW superfast chargers already in operation throughout Australia. These superfast DC chargers can readily supply power to the Audi at the capped rate of 150kW.

The e-tron can ‘refuel’ from five per cent charge for a further 110km of range within 10 minutes, which should be enough to get the e-tron owner out of trouble when they need to be somewhere in a hurry.

The claims made for the Audi e-tron hinge on charging the car from a public facility – and specifically from a 350kW DC superfast charger located somewhere like a local shopping centre.

Things are a little different for the e-tron owner planning to charge from home however.

The e-tron has an 11kW on-board AC (Alternating Current) charger. This converts AC/Mains power from your domestic power outlets in the garage at home to DC, which is compatible with the car’s battery.

Tesla models with a 100kWh battery are also fitted with an 11kW on-board AC charger, and are similarly limited when it comes to charging from a conventional three-pin/240V power outlet.

Through an interpreter, Silvia Gramlich told the local press that “it’s the nine hours for a full charge overnight...”

“That refers to a charging capacity of 11kW, so we’re talking about AC with three-phase classical socket.”

Unfortunately, the vast majority of Australian garages just aren’t wired up for three-phase AC circuits delivering up to 11kW.

A standard 10-amp socket will supply 2.4kW only, and even a 15-amp socket is good for just 3.6kW – and it will cost you more to have the latter installed.

Fully recharging the e-tron from a 240V outlet will take roughly three to five times longer than the nine hours suggested by Audi using a three-phase system.

However, the good news is that few owners will ever need to recharge the battery fully. Even a 10A socket should be able to add around 100km of range between dusk and dawn.

Over successive nights the e-tron can go from five per cent to fully charged, provided the driver doesn’t travel exceptionally long distances on consecutive days.

There are other solutions in the works, of course. Audi Australia is yet to reveal plans, but it’s likely the importer will offer something like a wallbox such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz already supply to customers.

And Audi will offer the e-tron with a second on-board AC charger as an extra-cost option, raising the potential charge rate to 22kW. That makes faster charging viable from a destination charger in public places.

With the second charger fitted, the e-tron will be able to power up from a destination charger at twice the rate of a 100kWh Tesla and could be fully charged by the time you return from your four hours of shopping and lunch.

Audi Australia will release further details concerning the e-tron specification for the local market next week.

Lithium-ion battery: 95kWh,
Liquid coolant capacity: 22 litres,
Temperate zone for battery charging: 25 – 35 degrees,
Charging times at maximum 150kW (DC) induction:

Vehicle range: 446km (WLTP),
Energy consumption:

Power: 300kW – e-tron 55 quattro,
Torque: 664Nm – e-tron 55 quattro.