StoreDot Successfully Demonstrates its Rapid EV Battery Charging Technology That Could Deliver 100 Miles of Range in 5 Minutes

author: Eric Walz   

StoreDot, an Israel-based company working on electric vehicle battery technology that can significantly reduce charging times, has successfully demonstrated its ultra-fast charging battery tech that can add 100 miles of range to an EV in just five minutes. 

The demonstration took place at EcoMotion Week 2022 in Israel, an industry event that brings together automakers including General Motors, Volvo, Ford, Hyundai and around 600 startups working in the field of smart mobility.  It's a joint venture of the Israel Innovation Institute (NGO) along with the Smart Mobility Initiative in the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Economy.

The demonstration featured a 300x100 mm pouch cell produced by lithium battery developer EVE Energy Co., Ltd ("EVE") in China. 

In the demonstration, the sample battery was charged under a 10-minute time limit, during which the cell charged to 20Ah, which StoreDot says exceeded the 0% to 80% capacity target set for the demonstration.

The cell maintained a charge rate that's good for 100 miles of range after just 5 minutes of charging, without overheating the battery, according to StoreDot. 

StoreDot says at no point did the battery temperature exceed 33-degree Celsius during the rapid charging demonstration, which was well below the recommended operating temperature set by the company's engineers. Rapid charging of a conventional lithium-ion battery causes its temperature to rise. 

StoreDot also noted that all critical parameters of the battery cell performed at an optimum level while being charged.

"Successfully proving StoreDot's extreme fast-charging battery technology in front of a live audience demonstrates the complete confidence we have in our roadmap to deliver a global step-change in electric mobility," said Doron Myersdorf, CEO of StoreDot. "Away from the stage, our transformative technology continues to undergo testing by leading automotive manufacturers in grueling conditions, ensuring no stone is left unturned in the strategic pursuit of delivering excellence to our customers and consigning EV range anxiety to the history books."

StoreDot's pioneering battery technology is centered around silicon anode technology and related software integration. The company says it has revolutionized the conventional Li-ion battery by designing and synthesizing proprietary organic and inorganic compounds.

The silicon anode materials replace traditional Lithium-ion graphite anodes, which help to increase an EV battery's energy density and significantly shorten charging times. Among the benefits, it will allow automakers to use smaller faster charging batteries in future EVs without sacrificing range or power, which can reduce the costs of electric vehicles.

This silicon-based anode technology is designed as a "drop-in" replacement for graphite anodes material in existing lithium-ion battery production facilities. It makes its easier to scale the technology using existing manufacturing lines.

This process also delivers higher energy density at the cellular-level with reduced swelling or expansion during charging. 

StoreDot aims to further decrease EV charging times as part of its "100inX'' strategic technology roadmap, which the company says will transform automotive travel and help to spur widespread EV adoption.

The company's goal is to mass produce a battery that can charge quickly enough to add 100 miles of range in five minutes by 2024. By 2028, StoreDot aims to reduce this charging time to just three minutes and two minutes by 2032.

"Today's demonstration represents the successful passing of another milestone on StoreDot's ambitious technology roadmap," said Yaron Fein, VP R&D at StoreDot. "Our intensive development program has already delivered batteries capable of exceeding 1,200 consecutive extreme fast cycles and we aim to complete the scaling up of more than 1000 cycles in our EV-size cells by the end of this year. We remain poised to achieve 100in5 by 2024, whilst remaining firmly on track to deliver our ultimate goal of 100in2 by 2032."

Last month, the Volvo Cars Tech Fund, which is the venture capital arm of automaker Volvo Cars, announced a strategic investment in StoreDot. The partnership with Volvo Cars will help the startup to accelerate the time to market for its ultra-fast battery charging technology. 

Volvo Cars says the investment in StoreDot provides it the opportunity to collaborate closely with the company on the development of its technology, which will also help the automaker reach its goal of building only fully-electric vehicles by 2030. 

StoreDot's other strategic investors include EV startup VinFast, BP, Daimler, Ola Electric, Samsung, TDK and EVE Energy.

A video of the demo can be viewed below:

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.