New hyperfast charger adds 500km of range in five minutes
Hong Kong firm says its new technology will revolutionise charging of electric carsRecharging your electric vehicle will soon take only as long as filling up a conventional petrol or diesel car, thanks to pioneering new technology developed by a Hong Kong-based start-up.
Desten claims to have developed batteries that are capable of being charged with its ultra-fast 900kW charging system, enabling 500km of driving range to be added in just four minutes and 40 seconds.
And this is no flight of fancy. The all-new tech is real and its first 75kWh battery pack will be offered with the Piech GT coupe production vehicle that will be on sale in 2024.
Claimed to be only possible thanks to "breakthrough discoveries in materials and cell structures", the current batteries that are being tested are claimed to be durable and capable of more than 3000 charge cycles, which equates to more than 1,500,000km of driving.
You might expect issues to surface with using a 900kW charger, such as the huge heat generated. But not so, says Desten, which claims that when its batteries are being topped up with its ultra-fast charger the battery pack doesn't get any hotter than 15 degrees Celsius above the ambient temperature.
Because of its chemical composition, the Hong Kong tech firm says it doesn't require traditional liquid cooling.
But the new battery tech isn't perfect. According to reports, the main drawback is the specific energy content isn't as good as its rivals, meaning the cells weigh more.
But without liquid cooling, Desten can package more cells in the same space, ensuring they remain compact in size.
When up and ready for sale, Desten says it will sell its mighty 900kW charging system for home and commercial use.
In areas where the grid cannot cope with multiple cars drawing 0.9MW each, the company will install a battery storage unit as a buffer. The system sees it draw current at a normal rate and then uses the battery system to top up to the ultra-fast 900kW rate.
Desten says it will reveal more soon about its pioneering tech, including its "novel chemical formulations".
Until now, the race to introduce ever-faster chargers has been led by Swedish-Swiss firm ABB, which has already begun rolling out its 360kW Terra chargers in Europe.
Topping up using a Terra is claimed to add 100km in less than three minutes.
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