Charge faster, driver further

Are we looking in the right direction when it comes to electric cars? For example, is the search for greater range exactly what we need?

That’s a question that BMW has been addressing at its Tech Days event in Landshut, Germany as the company prepares to debut its exciting Neue Klasse and Neue Klasse X electric models.

Essentially these cars will be the replacements for the 3 Series and iX3 - and although the Neue Klasse has been shown in concept form many times, it’s highly likely to be close to the production model.

But what about the battery and the electric motor? Well, while BMW says there will be an increase in range of some 30% the key thing is the speed with which the battery can be ‘filled up’.

BMW says its new Gen6 high-voltage batteries, which will feature in the Neue Klasse this year, represent a significant technological advancement in part thanks to the use of 800 volt architecture. They can be charged up to 30% faster and go further on that charge.

But the slimmer batteries are also highly integrated within the chassis to take on a structural role which BMW dubs “pack-to-open-body”, while the new cylindrical cells with 20% greater energy density that form the battery are integrated directly into the battery pack. And, of course, BMW has a name for that, which is “cell-to-pack”. Well, you would expect that.

What you might also suspect is that BMW Group has confirmed bidirectional charging will be standard for the Gen6 batteries - or vehicle to grid (V2G).

“For business users this is an exciting new direction for electric cars,” commented Rob Marshall, Operations Director of Gateway2Lease.

“We can become a little obsessed about range, but if the car can be charged quicker, then the amount of range becomes less of a problem. It certainly seems to be a new direction that the industry is heading in.”

BYD unveils the five minute charge

Speedier charging certainly seems to be on the cards. Chinese vehicle maker BYD has also debuted a new battery that it says can be charged in an amazing five minutes to provide some 250 miles of charge.

The aim is to take away charging anxiety and make replenishing the electrons in an electric car’s battery as quick as sloshing petrol or diesel into the tank of a combustion engine car.

Called Super e-Platform, the new 1,000v architecture introduces a number of groundbreaking technologies that set world records in the mass-produced electric-vehicle ecosystem.

The Super e-Platform’s core electric components – motor, electronic control and battery – have all been significantly upgraded – to achieve a charging power of one megawatt (1,000kW) In practical terms, this means that the Super e-Platform can add 1.2 miles of range per second.

At the presentation event in Shenzhen, China, the Chairman and President of BYD Group, Wang Chuanfu, said the new technology would help to wipe out the biggest remaining ‘pain point’ for electric-vehicle users.

“To completely eliminate users’ charging anxiety, our goal is to make EV charging as fast as refuelling a gasoline car – achieving ‘oil-electric parity’ in charging speed.”

Of course, there is one practical downside to this: and that’s the lack of mega flash chargers at the moment. But BYD is planning to roll out over 4,000 megawatt flash-charging stations across China. And that means it can’t be too long before such technology reaches the UK, where the fastest ultra rapid charger you’ll find at the moment pushes out 350kW, although 450kW chargers are on the way - so it’s only a matter of time.

Indeed, only a matter of time, when stopping for a charge is the same as stopping for petrol or diesel as the normalisation of electrification continues.