The Greek god Echion was known for his great strength and ability to change the course or direction of winds. That’s a great name for a disruptive start-up that claims to have invented an electric auto battery charging in six minutes. We have heard similar claims before. However this one could be ready to roll in a year.
How Would Their Electric Auto Battery Charging Work?
Echion Technologies spun out of Cambridge University which is a venerable UK institution. Dr. Jean De La Verpilliere, CEO founded the company while he was studying for his PhD in nanoscience there.
He told Cambridge Independent on August 21, 2019 he invented a new powder that replaces graphite inside lithium-ion battery cells. According to Elektrek “The powders are the central component of a lithium battery. This is a new kind of powder that allows you to recharge in six minutes, not forty-five minutes.” This could make electric auto battery charging almost as easy as it is to add gasoline.
However, Mum’s the Word on the New Powder
Dr. Jean De La Verpilliere and his colleagues are giving little away which is commercially sensible. However, they do make intriguing claims on their website. These include ultra-fast charging in six minutes, no dendrites, and “no need to sacrifice energy for power”.
They add their powder is entirely sustainable and requires “no expensive or rare feedstocks”. They believe their prototype will enable factories to churn out thousands of tons of their powder “quite easily”. Cambridge Enterprise and Newable Private Investing feel sufficiently inspired to back the project. “The problem with the usual powders is that when you fast-charge them they can cause an explosion”, De La Verpilliere says.
His new material will accept fast electric auto battery charging with no safety hazard, unlike graphite as it apparently does not explode. Hmmm what a good idea.
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Preview Image: Under 30 Europe List for 2018 (Cambridge University)
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