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Automotive

Volvo fast charger fills an EV battery in an hour and a half

By C.C. Weiss
November 08, 2012
Volvo fast charger fills an EV battery in an hour and a half
Volvo is testing the charger on its C30 EVs
Volvo is testing the charger on its C30 EVs
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A plug on the grille provides the charging interface
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A plug on the grille provides the charging interface
Volvo is testing the charger on its C30 EVs
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Volvo is testing the charger on its C30 EVs
The charger is designed for 230- and 400-volt outlets
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The charger is designed for 230- and 400-volt outlets
The fast charger can charge a battery as quickly as 1.5 hours
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The fast charger can charge a battery as quickly as 1.5 hours
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Volvo is working on what it calls the world's first three-phase on-board charger. The charger promises to make electric-vehicle charging much faster than it is now. Instead of charging a vehicle overnight or for hours at a time, Volvo claims its on-board unit will allow users to completely refresh their batteries in just 1.5 hours.

Volvo's fast charger has the capability to make a marked improvement over what current on-board electric vehicle charging hardware offers. With a 400-volt three-phase power source, the 22-kW charger can deliver 50 miles (80 km) worth of driving power within half an hour. A full charge will take 1.5 hours.

Volvo's hardware also allows for 230-volt charging with a more traditional overnight time frame. Depending on the available current, a 230-volt supply will charge the battery to full in 8 to 10 hours.

The charger is designed for 230- and 400-volt outlets
The charger is designed for 230- and 400-volt outlets

"The user can 'top up' the battery pack with electricity one or more times during the day," explains Lennart Stegland, Volvo's vice president for electric propulsion systems. "This means that the total daily range is significantly extended, yet with the same low operating cost compared to a car with a conventional power train."

Volvo plans to test its fast charger out on a fleet of C30 Electric cars.

Volvo isn't the first automaker to address the issue of long charging times. Nissan began distributing a quick charger system earlier this year, and Tesla recently launched a network of "Superchargers." Unlike those systems, however, Volvo's charger is small enough to fit on board the car.

Source: Volvo

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13 comments
C.C. Weiss
C.C. Weiss
Chris joined the New Atlas team in 2011 and now serves as the automotive and campers editor, traveling extensively to gather the latest news on cars, outdoor sports gear and other innovations designed to help people experience and enjoy the greater world around them.

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13 comments
Gargamoth
The refill time of an electric vehicle needs to be approximately ten minutes, realize that fueling a gas powered car take only a fraction of that. So an hour and a half is still very slow, Not a car to be used if you're in a hurry.
NK Fro
That would depend upon an individuals lifestyle, Gargamoth. I'd be more concerned if the quick charge cycle reduces the overall number of charge/recharge cycles the battery pack can withstand.
The actual, practical range is still more a more important consideration
joeblake
The most common reasons why a gas powered vehicle needs to be refueled quickly are so that (a) the next vehicle in the queue can start to refuel quickly, and (b) the driver can get home quickly from the fuel station. With e-vehicles most recharging will be done at home anyway.
Since many vehicles will be in car parking areas for much of the day, away from home charging, it would be sensible to work with two "quick swap" sets of batteries, so that while the car is away from home, another set of batteries can be recharging from the house rooftop solar panels, then topped up from the grid (if necessary) during the dark hours. This would then speed up the charging and reduce the cost of electricity since at least some of the power would come from the sun.
Platininis
Wait for Tesla's Supercharger stations next year with 90 KW! :) Volvo Nice job anyway!
Catweazle
What if the battery was divided into a large number of smaller sub-units for charging, each of which had its own supply and could be charged at relatively high current in - say - ten minutes?
Clearly this would require considerably more current than would be available from a domestic supply, but this would be no problem if using a three-phase industrial system.
Of course, the ultimate would be a battery where the electrolyte, not the electrodes, carried the charge, so all that would be necessary would be replacement of the fluid in the battery, which could then be recharged separately. This would take little longer than filling a conventional tank.
I believe that this is in fact under development, but currently only on an industrial scale.
Dekarate
Too bad most residential areas aren't wired for 3 phase !
I am sure my employer would love to see me pull-in and plug into their 3-phase service everyday !
PrometheusGoneWild.com
Any word on the effect on battery life with this system?
badbad
I am amazed every time I read an article on super fast charging... no doubt it will hurt the battery. With the current battery technology the range of electric car is limited (if not very limited if you stay in reasonable pricing). Most of those cars are designed as commuters which is fine. Why would you want too destroy the battery using a super far charging method in your garage? The reason why you would need a super fast charging would be: • You are not using the car for what it is supposed to use for… • You forgot the charge the car… Reason why manufacturer should work on induction charging… park the car for the night get out of it and go home it will manage its charge by itself every night and you will never run out of juice if you are using the car as intended without destroying the battery…
I must be missing something otherwise those super charger (1.5hour a the pump is not what I would call super fast anyway) would not that numerous…
Burnerjack
It may be a long refueling period compared to ICE, this would be pretty good for taxi/taxi stand service. Seems to me that short trip and repetetive start/stop duty such as taxis and delivery vehicles such as mail trucks is where these vehicles would yeild the greatest financial benefit.
Austin
Volt has the right idea. The battery should always be the power source. Having a backup system recharge the battery on the go is a fair trade off. I have used my Volt to drive back and forth to work for over one year. I have used 17 gallons of gas. My anxiety level is normal because I know the gas engine will start when the battery needs recharging. If the government sent everyone $20,000 to buy a Volt, the price of gas would drop below .50 a gallon. With high production volume, General Motors could get the costs down so even they make a profit. Meanwhile, we are finally independent of foreign oil. Utility companies have plenty of capacity between midnight and 6am. We finally have the answer! David Mallach.
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