StoreDot and Polestar showcase world’s first EV 10-minute charge

StoreDot and Polestar have revealed a groundbreaking milestone by demonstrating pioneering battery technology that charges an electric vehicle in just 10 minutes.

Private sector initiatives & innovations (including PPPs) / April 30, 2024

By James Foster

This world first demonstration, featuring a 10-minute charge with silicon-dominant battery cells in an electric vehicle, showcased unprecedented charging speeds that will eliminate consumer charging anxiety, a major obstacle to widespread EV adoption. Photo: Polestar

The companies successfully charged a 77kWh battery pack powered by StoreDot’s extreme fast charging high energy (300Wh/kg) silicon-dominant battery cells, installed in a fully driveable verification Polestar 5 prototype, from 10% to 80% in under 10 minutes.

The vehicle saw a consistent charge rate of over 310kW for the entire test procedure and a peak of more than 370kW. All cell parameters including temperature, voltage and charged capacity were monitored throughout, with the battery pack never exceeding the target operating temperature set by engineers of both teams.

The demo showcases StoreDot’s ‘drop-in’ ability to be integrated in an existing car model. It also paves the way to extreme fast charging a car using available charging infrastructure, rather than using proprietary chargers.

A key advantage of the silicon-based anode technology is the ability to continue pushing both energy density and charging rate boundaries for several more battery generations. In contrast, conventional graphite anodes are already approaching their theoretical performance limits, restricting further advancements. StoreDot's silicon design provides a crucial pathway to sustained innovation in areas like extreme fast charging.

The breakthrough was enabled by StoreDot's advanced XFC battery cells and represents another major milestone on the company’s path toward commercialisation, proving the maturity, stability, and durability of its game-changing technology, while paving the way for an industry-wide XFC battery adoption.

“By eliminating charging times that were previously an obstacle, StoreDot’s XFC battery cells combined with our cutting-edge product development and battery engineering have unlocked new frontiers for electric mobility,” said Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar. “This technology will reshape consumer expectations and accelerate mass EV adoption by making EV ownership a seamless experience for the mass market."

In January StoreDot announced its anticipated milestones for 2024, one of which was today’s demonstration. Other upcoming milestones include shipping prismatic B-samples to OEMs and signing strategic manufacturing agreements.

StoreDot remains firmly on track with production-readiness of its XFC cells that deliver 100 miles charged in five minutes this year. The company aims to deliver 100 miles charged in four minutes in 2026 and 100 miles charged in three minutes by 2028.