There are a number of battery technologies under development and/or awaiting commercialisation. Solid-state batteries are one, lithium-sulfur is another, sodium-ion yet another. It's pretty likely that in another few years, battery energy density is going to be 50% - 100% higher than it is today. That's enough so that the combined weight and space of battery+electric powertrain is competitive with fuel tank+ICE powertrain for vehicles of comparable range, and when that happens, look out.
BUT ... That claimed charging rate, assuming we are dealing with a real practical vehicle, is not going to happen. Their range number is 1200 km converted to miles for the Americans, I'll stay with the metric number. Let's use 15 kWh per 100 km ... my Bolt will do better than that in decent weather at lower speeds, and not quite achieve that at motorway speeds but it isn't particularly aerodynamic ... 15 kWh per 100 km is a decent, achievable number for a practical vehicle without "hypermiling". This implies 12 x 15 = 180 kWh battery capacity. If one were to presume a doubling of today's battery energy density, that implies about the same battery size and weight as today but with twice as much energy inside.
Here's the problem. The energy has to come from somewhere. 180 kWh in 10 minutes implies a charging rate of 1.08 MW. And *THAT* is not going to happen. The CCS connector is rated (by standards, UL, CSA, etc) at max 1000 V, max 500 A, and the strongest charging stations today cap the combined voltage and current at 350 kW. Yes, I know North America appears likely to switch to Tesla's connector, which Elon Musk's pixies and fairy dust claim will charge at 1 MW, but the process of accepting this as an actual standard is likely to cap it at 1000 V and some unknown current that may slightly exceed that of CCS (the current-carrying pins are a smidge bigger, and some current Tesla vehicles can apparently pull 610 amps or thereabouts) but it's not going to be 1 MW. Maybe half that. (Still a lot.)
1200 km range for a 180 kWh battery capacity vehicle is only going to apply for a vehicle with very good aerodynamics, akin to Tesla 3 or S, Hyundai Ioniq 6, VW ID.7. It is NOT going to happen for something that looks like a pickup truck or a big square SUV or for anything towing a trailer.
And ... as an actual EV owner ... Neither the extreme range nor the extreme charging speeds are actually needed "for most people". 400 km is in the sweet spot for range, perhaps somewhat longer for a long-road-trip vehicle. And 20 minutes for 20% - 80% is fine. Coffee-break time. This implies battery capacity in the 60 - 80 kWh range, more for vehicles expected to tow trailers, and charging 60% of an 80 kWh battery (= 48 kWh) in 20 minutes implies around 150 kW charging rate. That's available today. Bigger batteries and faster charging rates are fine for vehicles expected to haul loads or tow trailers, but for a daily driver "car" (not overweight SUV), what's available today is fine.
electrek.co
www.theguardian.com
www.thestar.com
