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10-Minute Fast Charging Could Be Just Three Years from Production for Polestar

Polestar engineers charge a Polestar 5 prototype to 80 percent in just 10 minutes using StoreDot’s silicon-dominant battery cells.

Dan Carney, Senior Editor

April 29, 2024

3 Min Read
The charging screen for the 10-minute charging test.
The charging screen for the 10-minute charging test.Polestar

At a Glance

  • 10% to 80% charge in 10 minutes
  • Could be in production in three years
  • Charges beyond 80 percent at undiminished speed

Swedish EV specialist Polestar partnered with fast-charging battery pioneer StoreDot to charge a Polestar 5 prototype from a 10 percent state of charge to 80 percent in just 10 minutes.

They did this with the battery installed in a drivable verification prototype rather than a battery test lab stand and saw a consistent charge rate that started at 310 kilowatts and peaked at 370 kW. For comparison, the Kia EV9 I recently charged on an Electrify America 350-kW charging station started at 170 kW and peaked at 209 kW.

The Polestar test vehicle, in contrast, blasted power into the battery at a consistently high level without overheating the cells. “We got there and got it within the margin,” crowed Polestar Battery System Chief Engineer Jens Groot after the test. “We got to 82 percent [state of charge] and we had plenty of margin in cell voltage and in cell temperature.”

Polestar did this by using StoreDot’s XFC silicon-dominant battery cells in a 77-kWh battery pack. This technology could support a 100-kWh pack, in which case the demonstrated charge rate would supply 200 miles of driving range to the Polestar 5 in that 10-minute charging time, according to the company. This capability could be in customers’ cars within three years, Groot stated. “We typically have a development cycle of two to three years, so I'd say we could put this into production within that time period.”

StoreDot’s XFC technology uses silicon-dominant battery cells that have an energy density equivalent to the latest Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion cells. The key to the test’s success was incorporating improved cooling capacity into the battery modules. This was done without increasing the modules’ weight and while retaining serviceability and recyclability of the battery pack, Polestar said.

The company acknowledges that fast-charging batteries is common but points out that such tests are typically done under lab conditions rather than this demonstration using a complete battery pack that is installed in a car. “This is proof that we can now charge at these speeds in a standard car,” Groot said.

Polestar_battery_module_prototype.jpg

“We tried now to prove that we can do this just by better integration and better cooling inside the battery pack, focusing on the battery pack with a good cooling interface,” he said. “We didn't add anything new outside the battery pack. It still had the original cooling pump and fan.”

Another characteristic of the StoreDot technology is the ability to plow through the charging speed limit that strikes other lithium batteries when they exceed an 80 percent state of charge. Normally, EV battery charging rates plunge when they reach 80 percent, making it impractical to use the last 20 percent of capacity when fast charging.

Polestar_5_prototype_x_StoreDot.jpg

“With this battery, it almost doesn't matter when you stop to charge your car,” said Groot. “In this sense, the experience is more like filling up your car at the petrol station. Because of that, this test really feels like a major step towards alleviating both range and charging concerns in customers,” he said. “It definitely has the potential to be transformative.”

The hardest part of the test? “It wasn’t easy to find a cable that can handle this current, I’ll tell you that,” Groot noted.

About the Author

Dan Carney

Senior Editor, Design News

Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.

A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.

Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.

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He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.

He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.

He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.

He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.

Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.

He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers

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