While the EV market has been expanding for the past several years, many inhibitors to widespread EV adoption continue to exist. Among them are relatively high vehicle purchase prices (due mostly to high EV battery costs), limited home charging solutions for urban settings, and range anxiety.

Several studies and surveys also list charging anxiety, which is caused by low public charger availability and relatively slow EV charging times—compared to ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle refueling times—as another major reason why many consumers are still hesitant to make the transition to electric mobility. One technology company has recognized this issue and believes it is as critical to EV adoption as any charging infrastructure challenge.

Battery startup StoreDot has developed its Extreme Fast Charging (XFC) technology for EV batteries to enable charging in under 10 min. The company believes that the recent deployment of high-power chargers must be matched with the deployment of XFC battery technology in EVs. It says that battery technology and high-power charging infrastructure are intertwined, and are both necessary to unlock the mass adoption of EVs.

StoreDot is now shipping samples of its 100in5 silicon batteries capable of delivering 100 mi, or 160 km of charge in just five minutes. The company claims its global OEM partners, which it lists as Daimler, VinFast, Volvo Cars, Polestar, and Ola Electric, are testing and validating its technology, and that mass production readiness is now on track to see its battery cells hit the market starting in 2025.

“Charging anxiety remains a key barrier to mass adoption of EVs,” said Dr. Doron Myersdorf, StoreDot CEO. “Nevertheless, the ability of the vehicle to charge fast is just as crucial to prospective EV users as the availability of high-power charge points. We welcome anyone investing in and deploying 350 kW plus chargers as they enable XFC industrialization and in turn accelerate the adoption rate of EVs. With long lead times required to introduce new vehicles, we are urging global automotive manufacturers to adopt XFC battery technology that can safely accept the much-needed high power charging rates, to enable our industry to achieve the ambitious goal of zero-emission transport for a cleaner world.”

Recently, StoreDot reported successful battery performance of the A-Samples testing phase of its XFC electric vehicle battery cells. The comprehensive testing programs took place earlier this year by leading global automotive brand manufacturers from Europe, Asia, and the U.S., as well as several of StoreDot’s strategic ecosystem partners.

Last year, StoreDot unveiled its ambitious ‘100inX’ strategic technology roadmap, outlining three generations of StoreDot technologies: silicon-dominant XFC, semi-solid state, and post-lithium architecture. This roadmap reiterates that the anticipated milestones will be delivered over the next decade, with 100in5 targeted for 2024, 100in3 for 2028, and 100in2 for 2032.

“Our 100in5 battery cells are already being tested by 15 global OEMs and partners, and results show that the XFC revolution is within reach,” said Myersdorf.

In June, the company said it had gotten “outstanding battery performance feedback” for the first evaluation and integration A-Samples testing phase of its XFC EV battery cells. Feedback from partners that have completed tests showed that the cells exceeded expectations.

The aim of the evaluation program was to replicate StoreDot’s XFC specifications based on partner use cases and test procedures. OEMs and partners that replicated StoreDot’s results reached an energy density greater than 300 W·h/kg, at a charging rate higher than 4C, achieving over 1000 consecutive XFC charging cycles.

“The testing results confirm the value proposition that XFC is critical in eliminating range and charging anxiety, while at the same time empowering OEMs to design EVs with smaller pack sizes that can charge in minutes,” said Amir Tirosh, StoreDot COO. “Using standard Li-ion manufacturing lines either owned by the partners themselves or with subcontractors, this success enables us to promptly begin selective collaboration on B-samples with our partners.”

Some OEM partners have already progressed to phase two of the testing programs, which involves the initiation of B-Samples programs tailored to their own form factor and specific requirements, enabling future implementation in each OEM EV architecture.