New EV battery promises incredible six-minute charges — as electric cars edge closer to gas pump refueling speeds

• A new fast-charging EV battery has been announced
• It charges from 10%-98% in as little as 6 minutes, 27 seconds
• It offers high-speed charging in temperatures as low as -30°C (-22°F)

Electric vehicle (EV) battery technology has taken another leap forward with a new charging benchmark that's just been set by a Chinese battery giant.

CATL – the market-leading EV battery maker – has announced its Shenxing 3rd Generation Battery, which it claims can charge even quicker than BYD's recently announced, and already impressive, Blade 2.0 offering.

CATL says its new lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery can charge from 10%-35% in one minute, 10%-80% in three minutes 44 seconds, and 10%-98% in six minutes and 27 seconds.

By comparison, BYD's latest battery takes four minutes and 54 seconds to go from 10%-70%, and nine minutes to charge from 10% to 97%.

CATL's new battery can also apparently perform remarkably well in low temperatures (as low as -30°C / -22°F) thanks to its 'self-heating technology'.

Information on this tech is a little thin on the ground for now, but according to CarNewsChina, it "uses pulse rapid heating to solve low-temperature ultra-fast charging challenges".

Low temperatures can significantly reduce the charge speeds of EV batteries, which is why we've seen a number of manufacturers offer heat-pumps (usually as an optional extra, or limited to top-spec models) to aid charging in cold weather.

The suggestion here with CATL's self-heating tech is that there won't be a need for a traditional heat pump, which could save on overall vehicle weight and cost.

Analysis: The future of EV ownership is bright

CATL didn't mention the type of range we can expect from its new battery, although if we take BYD's Blade 2.0 offering as a baseline, 400+ miles looks set to be an achievable marker for these new power packs thanks to increased density.

With greater range, even faster charging, and more affordable models entering the market, the main roadblocks to EV ownership are melting away. CATL did also announce that an update to its Qilin battery is capable of driving 1500km on a single charge.

"The boundaries of electrochemistry are still far from being reached," noted CATL's founder Robin Zeng. "And the possibilities of materials science are still far from being exhausted."

Being able to top-up your EV pretty much as quickly as a gas-powered car is great, but you'll need access to a high-powered charger to get those speeds — and there lies the final major hurdle for the electric market to overcome.

EV charging networks in countries around the world are rapidly expanding – BYD has rolled out its first 1,500kW chargers in China – but it will take some time before there's a readily available network of high-speed chargers across other nations.

The future is certainly bright for EVs though — give this battery technology a year or so to make its way into vehicles, and for charging infrastructure to continue to grow, and electric car ownership is primed for pole position on driveways around the world.

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