Israeli startup StoreDot says its battery prototype didn’t degrade after multiple fast charging sessions, compared with slow charging scenarios.
The firm conducted 1,000 consecutive extreme fast charging (XFC) tests, including sessions where the state of charge was upped from 10 percent to 80 percent in just 10 minutes, as well as recharging cells from zero to 100 percent SoC with XFC.
After the tests were conducted, StoreDot determined that the cells demonstrated no degradation in comparison to cells that were slow-charged from zero to 100 percent SoC, which translates into a real-world scenario where an electric vehicle would be charged from a Level 1 or Level 2 charger.
In other words, it doesn’t matter if the cells are charged at slow or very high speeds, the degradation will be the same, which should be comforting for people who want to drive an EV for as long as possible.
“The tests safely delivered the charging speed that consumers demand with the best range while preserving the longevity of the vehicle’s battery cells – a crucial combination in reducing users’ anxiety for achieving widespread adoption of EVs, said Dr. Doron Myersdorf, StoreDot CEO. “The significance of testing our silicon batteries under various use-case conditions demonstrates our battery’s robustness regardless of drivers’ charging habits, recharging frequency, or charger power.”
However, it’s worth noting that StoreDot’s pouch cells, which are silicon-dominant, are still a pretty long way from powering your next electric car. A-samples were tested by 15 car manufacturers around the world earlier this year, and B-sample units are currently being looked at by some automakers, the battery startup claims.
Late last year, StoreDot said that by 2024, its XFC batteries will be capable of accepting 100 miles of charge in five minutes and expects to reduce this to just three minutes by 2028. The startup’s 30-amp-hour pouch cells were also tested by the independent battery lab Shmuel De-Leon Energy, which concluded that the batteries are commercially viable.
StoreDot has partnerships with names like Daimler, VinFast, Volvo Cars, Polestar, and Ola Electric, so it’s not out of the question that its battery tech will reach one of these manufacturers, eventually.