Fast charging ability along with energy density is part of the holy-grail of battery technology, typically difficult to achieve with standard lithium-ion technology due to temperature rise, safety and cycle life degradation.
However, StoreDot believe they have the answer. As part of a technology demonstration in London, UK, hosted by Israel firm’s strategic partner on 7th November, BP, the company demonstrated the full charge of an electric two-wheel vehicle in five minutes.
BEST witnessed the successful fast charging with a depleted 0.75 kWh e-Scooter battery being charged in five minutes and 24seconds, before being placed in the scooter and driven away.
StoreDot CEO, Dr Doron Myersdorf, told BEST at the event the two main objectives StoreDot aimed to accomplish were speed of charge and heat control.
StoreDot’s aim is to eliminate a number of problems faced in fast charging lithium-ion by replacing the graphite with metalloids, which are known to have a faster diffusion of the ions, but which in turn have their own issues such as swelling and instability.
Myersdorf said StoreDot processed the particles of silicon to become nanoparticles and coated them with organic materials in order to protect them.
In order to keep the temperature down, materials with a far lower resistance than those used in traditional batteries are needed, he said.
“In the case of graphite, which has a high resistance due to its carbon element, the ions don’t move very easily inside the carbon however they do move much easier inside semi-metals and semi-conductors such as silicon.
“The focus on working with organic materials, alongside the nanoparticles (the inorganic elements), is what makes their battery unique and enables the ultra-fast charging.”
StoreDot first presented the fast-charging e-scooter inJune as a proof-of-concept vehicle.
The company hopes to make e-scooters using their technology as attractive to users as a petrol or diesel ones. It plans to apply the technology to four-wheel electric vehicles in the future.
