- With public EV charging growing at a rapid rate, and the maximum charging speeds of the newest EVs and charge points getting higher, it’s an exciting time for the world of EV charging.
- With manufacturers such as BYD now making charging speeds of up to 1,000kW possible on consumer EVs, the rate at which an EV can be recharged is set to get even faster – but it’s not just traditional cable charging that could help along EVs on long distance journeys.
- This is a run down of what the future has in store for EV charging and batteries.
The future of EV charging
Higher public charging speeds
Recent public charging stations opened in Europe by CPOs such as Fastned are capable of charging speeds of up to 400kW, allowing compatible EVs to recharge in as little as 15 minutes. That’s already an impressive achievement, but from a statistical standpoint, still above the time it takes to refuel a petrol or diesel car. That’s where BYD has recently stepped in, unveiling its new ‘Super e-Platform’ for EVs, which has a maximum charging rate of 1,000kW – allowing around 400 kilometres of range to be added in just five minutes. BYD is already taking orders for the new Han L and Tang L EVs in China, which will be the first vehicles to adopt this ultra-rapid charging platform, arriving later this year.
Battery swapping
If moves in China are anything to go by, it won’t just be conventional cable charging playing a key role in an all-electric future. Battery swapping has continued to expand in the country, driven by key players such as Chinese electric vehicle company, NIO, under its NIO Power subsidiary.
NIO’s system involves a station with a set of fully-charged battery units, which are swapped out from the depleted unit currently on the car – in a process that takes only three minutes, furthering the convenience aspect for first-time EV buyers. NIO already operates over 3,000 such swapping stations in China, whilst a handful are also in operation worldwide.
The battery swapping technology has also allowed NIO to offer a unique proposition to its customers in China, with its ‘battery as a service’ subscription – significantly reducing the initial purchase price of their EVs, by allowing drivers to lease the the battery on a monthly basis. For people who largely only need a small capacity, NIO now also allows users to temporarily upgrade to a larger battery pack, for a planned road trip, for example, for an extra cost – and then the ability to revert to the less costly smaller battery pack afterwards.
China’s CATL and Sinopec are also collaborating on battery swapping technology, creating a standardised protocol that can open up the technology for other OEMs to use. The duo hope to open 10,000 such stations in the long term. Rumour also has it that CATL is currently in talks with NIO to purchase a controlling stake its battery swapping arm.
Home charging
While overnight home charging doesn’t really necessitate charging speeds any higher than that of current home charging units, there are still big changes being made to charging at home as a whole. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) is pinned to play a crucial role here, allowing drivers to discharge their EVs back into the grid in times of demand. This carries multiple potential benefits, from maximising the use of renewable energies, saving drivers money on their energy bills, and reducing demand on the grid.
In the UK, Octopus Energy already provides a tariff with V2G capabilities, though it’s compatibility with EVs is limited to older CHAdeMO EVs, such as the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. The onus is on manufacturers to bring V2G compatibility to their EVs, but that’s now happening at a rapid rate. Nissan have pledged that it’ll bring V2G compatibility to ‘selected’ EVs from 2026, whilst Volvo’s pilot trial into V2G is proving successful – with its EX90 electric SUV set to be the first Volvo EV to support the technology.
