Becoming an industry trend

Definition

There is currently no unified standard or definition for ultra-fast charging in the industry. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy first defined extreme-fast-charging (XFC) as charging from 0-80% within 10 minutes, with a corresponding charge of 55 kWh or a range of 320 kilometers. This translates to a minimum required charging station power of 400 kW.

In China, the understanding in the industry is that super fast charging stations have the following characteristics: a maximum output power of at least 360 kW and above, and utilize split-type design with full liquid cooling technology. However, some cities like Shenzhen have explicitly stated that individual super fast charging devices must have a rated power not less than 480 kW.

Although there is a lack of unified standards in the industry, the main features of ultra-fast charging are higher power and shorter time.

Technical direction

The charging power is related to the charging current and system voltage. As increasing the current would raise the requirements for battery thermal management, and there is a limit to the maximum current that can be supported by the vehicle, most car manufacturers adopt a solution of increasing the charging voltage to improve charging speed. The 800V high-voltage fast-charging platform has become the mainstream technological direction for current new energy vehicle companies.

EV restrictions

To achieve fast charging, in addition to a high-voltage platform, new energy vehicles also need to be equipped with batteries that have a charging rate of 4C or higher. C can be referred to as the ‘charging rate’, where nC represents the battery’s total capacity that can be charged or discharged in one hour. The larger the value of n, the shorter the time required for a full charge. 1C refers to the ability to complete a full charge or discharge operation within one hour if the battery has a capacity of 100Ah and is charged or discharged at a current of 100A. On the other hand, 4C means that it only takes fifteen minutes (one-fourth of an hour) to complete a full discharge/charge cycle.

With continuous technological breakthroughs and the implementation of multiple application scenarios, the ultra-fast charging technology with 800V and batteries above 4C has the potential to become a mainstream trend in the development of electric vehicles in the near future.

Battlefield of EV companies

First released by Porsche

Since Porsche released the world’s first mass-produced vehicle, the Taycan, equipped with an 800V high-voltage platform in 2019, the development of the high-voltage fast-charging industry chain has gradually matured. As a result, car manufacturers are increasingly accelerating their deployment of ultra-fast charging technology, leading to a continuous emergence of 800V high-voltage vehicle models.

Actively follow up

Chinese car brands such as Chery, Geely, Chang’an, BYD, Great Wall, NIO and Xiaopeng, as well as established automakers Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi have already launched or planned to launch 800V high-voltage models. With advancements in battery technology, it is believed that soon batteries with charging rates of over 4C will be installed to achieve even higher charging efficiency.

A gradually matured industrial chain

For the super-fast charging technology ecosystem, with the intensive release of new energy vehicles equipped with 800V high-voltage fast charging models, the industry chain is gradually maturing. The rapid popularization and mass production of 800V high-voltage fast charging and 4C batteries will become a new battleground for car manufacturers to compete in by 2024.

Layout of battery companies

The implementation of ultra-fast charging technology also requires batteries to have corresponding charge and discharge rates, which requires the promotion and matching by mainstream battery companies. Battery technology is a crucial breakthrough for achieving ultra-fast charging and has become the core competitiveness for power battery companies to participate in future market competition. The competition, represented by leading battery companies, has already begun.

CATL

In June 2023, CATL released the CTP3.0 Ternary Kirin battery, which supports 4C ultra-fast charging; in August, they further introduced the 4C Lithium Iron Phosphate Shenxing Supercharge battery, claiming it can achieve a replenishment speed of ’10 minutes of charging for 400 kilometers of range’.

Sunwoda

Under the dual drive of market demand and technological engineering, Sunwoda is committed to developing and releasing products using 4CNCM super fast charging technology by 2023, supporting electric vehicles to easily achieve a range of 1000 kilometers and only requiring 10 minutes to charge the battery to 80% SOC.

Trends

In addition, various power battery companies with production capabilities have also begun to layout in the field of ultra-fast charging technology and actively promote the development of power batteries from 1C, 2C to discharge rates above 4C.

With companies racing to establish their presence, the competition in the power battery market has once again intensified. As power battery manufacturers ramp up production and delivery of their batteries, the industry is poised to swiftly enter the era of ultra-fast charging.