BMW And Porsche Demo Rapid Charger That Can Deliver 62 Miles Of Range In Less Than 3 Minutes

Range anxiety is largely a thing of the past as modern electric vehicles have larger and more powerful lithium-ion batteries which allow many of them to travel over 200 miles (321 km) on a single charge. Despite the growing ranges, electric vehicles still suffer from long recharging times.

Automakers are working to fix that problem and BMW and Porsche have shown off a new FastCharge system which was created as a result of an $8.8 (£7 / €7.8) million grant from the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The funds were used to build a high-tech charging station in Jettingen-Scheppach which has an output of up to 450 kW.

The large output of the charging station allows it to rapidly recharge electric vehicles and Porsche noted one of its prototypes was able to achieve a charging capacity of over 400 kW. This allows the model to be given enough charge to drive 62 miles (100 km) in less than three minutes.

Porsche went on to say the new FastCharge system has a charging capacity that is three to nine times higher than current DC rapid-charging stations. This means drivers could quickly use the charger and continue on their journey after just a few minutes.

BMW brought one of their i3 research vehicles to the unveiling and it had a 57 kWh battery pack. Thanks to the charger, the car’s battery can be given an 80% change – when starting from 10% – in just 15 minutes.

The charging station will be free to use and it will work with vehicles equipped with 400- and 800-volt battery systems that follow the Type 2 Combined Charging System standard. The charger is able to automatically recognize a vehicle’s maximum permitted charging capacity and will adjust the charge accordingly.