Nissan, maker of the all-electric LEAF, has developed a super-fast charger that can recharge an electric vehicle’s battery in 10 minutes. However, it could take a decade to make this technology commercially available. Photo: Nissan
The long wait-time to recharge an electric vehicle’s battery – up to eight hours – is a major reason more consumers don’t switch to all-electric vehicles. But what if charging your electric vehicle (EV) was as quick as refueling your conventional gas-powered car?
Nissan, maker of the all-electric LEAF, is developing a super-fast charger that can recharge an EV battery in 10 minutes, the New York Daily News reports.
Working in conjunction with Japan’s Kansai University, Nissan researchers discovered that by changing the capacitor’s electrode from carbon to tungsten oxide and vanadium oxide, they were able to successfully charge an EV battery in a record time of 10 minutes, with no significant impact on storage capacity or voltage. However, it could take Nissan a decade to make this technology available to consumers.
Last month, Nissan began offering the LEAF in six more states: Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York, making the all-electric vehicle available in a total of 22 states and Washington, D.C.
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