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Long charging times still deter many customers from purchasing electric cars. Electric vehicles that can quickly refuel at over 250 kilowatts (kW) are still an exception. Some higher-priced models such as the Audi E-Tron GT, Porsche Taycan or Lotus Eletre already charge their batteries with 270 kW and more, as long as conditions are suitable. In addition to current Tesla models, vehicles from Kia, Hyundai and Genesis also shine in charging bays (also interesting: these 10 electric cars charge the fastest).
More and more electric cars can benefit from powerful 800-volt charging technology. Mercedes will launch the new generation Stromer based on this technology at the end of the year. Other new vehicles, such as the Audi Q6 or Porsche Macan, have also significantly increased charging speeds thanks to the combination of new battery and charging technology. And the first electric vehicles, such as the American Lucid Air, have already increased the voltage to 900 volts.
High-performance networking is growing
What all new products have in common: As a driver, you don’t want to stop at “normal” fast charging stations when you need to go really fast: The magic word is high-power charging, or HPC for short. Hyperchargers are chargers that can be used to draw more than 150 kW of electricity, while fast chargers are sufficient for vehicles that can refuel between 50 and 150 kW.
Many previous HPC charging stations offer a maximum charging speed of 300 kW. The next generation of columns will improve significantly here. Dutch provider Fastned opened the first 400 kW hyperchargers more than a year ago. Shortly before Christmas, Fastned opened four more such charging points on the German A4 motorway between Aachen and Cologne. However, since there was no vehicle that could charge at this speed before, thanks to the new technology, it was possible to charge two vehicles with 200 kW each in parallel. Even chargers claiming to be from 150 to 300 kW are often fake: if two cars are connected, the fast 300 kW becomes only twice the average 150 kW.
Loading time decreases, performance increases
In the future, as the selection of new high-speed vehicles increases, hyperchargers will likely be able to deliver the maximum possible performance more and more often. In addition, the waiting time at the charging station is also significantly shortened: For example, the recently revised Porsche Taycan can charge its battery up to 320 kW in a short time. The sports car manufacturer promises that the battery will charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in 18 minutes at best. This is even faster than the previous model, although the battery capacity has increased again from 93 kilowatt hours (kWh) to 105 kilowatt hours (kWh). In this way, the new Taycan has a range of up to 678 kilometers.
European market leader Ionity is also counting on speeds of up to 350 kW for its new superchargers. Mercedes also wants to install similar columns in its own charging network. Depending on the location, “Mercedes-Benz Charging Centers” will offer four to twelve high-power chargers with charging power of up to 350 kW. Thanks to smart charging management, every connected vehicle should be able to reach maximum charging speed. But it’s not just about speed itself, because the use of columns in the field has not always been customer-friendly; A few bright LED spotlights in a dark commercial space are no longer enough.
Plug and charge
Electric car drivers want safety, especially in the evening and at night, a roof against rain and snow and, ideally, connection to local infrastructure. And the easiest possible process: With Ionity, for example, the charging card or smartphone can remain in your pocket in the future to start the charging process. In this case, vehicles with this technology, called “Plug and Charge”, only need to be plugged in. Charging starts independently, without any intervention from the driver, as Tesla has been doing for years.
Electric car maker Nio is going one step further with charging stations because the Chinese don’t want to rely on patented swappable battery technology at swap stations. In addition to the new top model Nio ET9 at the end of 2023, a liquid-cooled charger with an output of up to 640 kilowatts was also introduced. These Hyperchargers go far beyond the competition and are aimed at both the Chinese and European markets. Long waiting times should be a thing of the past.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
