German Mahle has cooperated with battery-maker Allotrope Energy to creat a new fast-charging solution for electric vehicles. The new lithium-carbon battery borrows elements from the world of supercapacitors to deliver charge times that are on par with the refueling process for internal combustion-powered vehicles, and offers a few other environmental benefits while it’s at it.

The idea was to develop a cheap, small-capacity lithium-carbon battery that could keep these electric vehicles on the move, with minimal stoppage time required for recharging.
Their solution is made up of high-rate anode seen in traditional lithium-ion batteries, which combines with the type of cathode seen in a supercapacitor, separated by an organic electrolyte.

This is claimed to bring the tremendous power density and charging capabilities supercapacitors offer, combined with the superior energy density of lithium batteries, with the resulting lithium-carbon cell offering fast-charging rates of up to 20 kW.

According to analysis carried out on a simulated fast food service with a 25-km (15-mile) radius, using a conventional 500-Wh battery would require electric mopeds to pull over mid-shift and spend 30 minutes recharging. For the sake of comparison, the team says its novel battery pack could recharge these vehicles in 90 seconds thanks to its ultra-fast charging rate.

In addition, the team’s lithium-carbon battery uses no rare-earth metals and is entirely recyclable, and is also claimed not to be susceptible to thermal runaway events that can cause batteries to overheat and be destroyed.

According to Newatlas