Electric car battery that charges in 11 minutes

BAIC has developed a sodium-ion battery that charges in 11 minutes and works flawlessly even at -20 ° C. With its safety and low raw material costs, it represents a serious alternative to lithium batteries, heralding a new era of affordable electric mobility.

Photo: BAIC

Chinese car giant BAIC has made a surprising breakthrough in the development of sodium-ion batteries that could revolutionize the electric vehicle market. Their new battery pack, developed under the Aurora program, promises to solve three of the biggest problems with current technologies: high cost, limited raw material supply and poor performance in winter conditions. The prototype cell achieves an energy density of 170 Wh/kg, putting it at the very top of the sodium battery industry.

The most impressive feature, of course, is the charging speed. The system supports advanced 4C technology, which means that the battery can be charged from completely empty to full in just 11 minutes. In addition to its lightning-fast speed, BAIC's technology also excels in extreme temperatures. The battery operates smoothly in a range from -40 °C to 60 °C, retaining more than 92 percent of its capacity even at -20 °C. This is a key advantage over lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, which quickly lose efficiency in the cold.

Safety tests have shown that sodium cells are extremely stable; they can withstand overcharging up to 200 % without the risk of fire and remain safe even at temperatures up to 200 °C. Although BAIC has not yet revealed the exact date of serial installation in its vehicles, they have already prepared the production processes for mass production. Since sodium is significantly cheaper and more accessible than lithium, this technology could lead to significantly cheaper electric vehicles that can be used all year round, regardless of weather conditions.