Only in recent years has it become possible to build an electric car with a practical range of 200 to 250 miles. Improved battery technologies with high energy density make this possible. But there’s still a big problem facing EVs: charge time. A number of new technologies promise to allow rapid-charging, but so far none have come to market. China’s BYD automobile company is ready to change that with a prototype vehicle it has on display at the Detroit auto show this week, which can charge in 10 minutes.
Rapid charging requires a storage device that can withstand high voltages — something most current lithium-ion batteries cannot handle. So far, high-density ultracapacitors that could overcome this problem — like the one proposed by research firm EEStor — have not yet materialized. Meanwhile, alternative approaches, like nanowire lithium-ion batteries, are still a few years from market at best.
There’s also the issue of cost. A U.K. startup called the Lighting Car Company has demonstrated a sport car it says can charge in 15 minutes. However, the lithium-titanate batteries it uses are extremely expensive, pushing the cost of the car well into the six-figure range.
But BYD’s lithium-ion iron phosphate battery could be a game changer. The company showed two prototypes at the Detroit auto show — a sedan and an SUV — both of which have a range of 250 miles and can charge to 70 percent capacity in 10 minutes.
Such rapid charging would not be possible from a home outlet, but rather from an industrial-grade hookup at a service station.
BYD says it will have the all-electric E6 and F6 models on the market in China in the second half of this year. The company wants to start selling its cars in the United States in 2011, but it remains to be seen whether the vehicles can meet U.S. safety regulations.
Alternatively, the company could license its battery technology to U.S., Japanese, and European automakers with relative ease. When asked at the Detroit show about that possibility, chariman Wang Chuan-Fu told Reuters the option is being considered.
“We would consider it, and many have shown interest in cooperating in the field,” Chuan-Fu said. “Right now we’re just limited by resources.”
BYD is a company that was originally founded as a battery maker. It only recently began designing its own automobiles. The firm received a $230 million investment in September 2008 from billionaire investor Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway now owns a 10 percent stake in the company.
