Charging Ahead

People used to be put off trading from a petrol car to an electric vehicle, by cost. Now, the prime inhibiting factors appear to be concerns about the range of the vehicle and the speed of recharging the Lithium ion batteries. A solution to this latest blocker appears imminent. StoreDot, an Israeli Company, have developed a battery, that can fully charge in only 5 minutes (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/19/electric-car-batteries-race-ahead-with-five-minute-charging-times). The recharge time is, consequently, comparable with how long it would have taken to put petrol in a fuel tank. The batteries have been produced, in substantial numbers, on a production line by Eve Energy in China. Car manufacturers can consequently easily trial them. The batteries have replaced a formerly graphite terminal, with one made from semi-conductor nanoparticles, based on Germanium. The only downside to the new technology, is that it will require much higher-powered chargers than the ones that have been currently put in place on motorways et cetera.