Ultra-fast electric car charging breakthrough could refill batteries in minutes

A new ultra-fast electric car charging network is set to be introduced which will drastically slash recharging times for EV cars. 

The move is part of the joint venture IONITY that will help drivers across Europe have better and more efficient access to EV charging. 

BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company and the Volkswagen Group with Audi and Porsche announced the joint venture today. 

The car giants have been developing the new technology to rollout to hundreds of charging stations in Europe. 

Approximately 400 HPC stations will be introduced by 2020. 

IONITY is based in Munich, Germany and led byChief Executive Officer Michael Hajesch and Chief Operating Officer Marcus Groll, with a growing team, set to number 50 by the start of 2018.

“The first pan-European HPC network plays an essential role in establishing a market for electric vehicles.

“IONITY will deliver our common goal of providing customers with fast charging and digital payment capability, to facilitate long-distance travel,” said Hajesch.

Each station will have a capacity of 350kW per charging point – which currently have 150kW of power, although higher powered models have been rumoured. 

Superchargers will recharge 80 per cent of the car battery in 30 minutes, suggesting that the new IONITY charger could slash that time to closer to the 15 minutes mark. 

This would greatly improve the experience of recharging for customers as EV battery technology catches up. 

The network will use the European charging standard Combined Charging System to significantly reduce charging times compared to existing systems.

A total of 20 charging stations will opened to the public over the next few months in major roads in Germany, Norway and Austria, at intervals of 120km. 

Over the course of 2018, the network will grow to over 100 stations. 

These will be implemented through partnerships with “Tank & Rast”, “Circle K” and “OMV”.