Nyobolt Reveals EV Battery That Recharges In Just Five Minutes

British startup Nyobolt has used a EV demonstration at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire to reveal a potential solution to the range anxiety problem associated with electric vehicles.

The demonstration featured the Nyobolt EV prototype, a Callum Designs build sports car at the Bedford testing ground which carried a prototype 35kWh battery pack that Nyobolt has developed.

What made this demonstration so noteworthy was the rapid-charging battery prototype within the EV, which is able to charge from 0 to 100 percent in just six minutes.

Ultra-fast EV charging

However at the live Millbrook demonstration, it was only able to charge from 10 to 80 percent in four minutes and 37 seconds, the BBC noted.

This was apparently due to local challenges including the UK heatwave, a failure in the concept car’s cooling system, and a standard on-site charger that was not made by Nyobolt, the BBC reported.

The BBC noted that the sports car carrying the Nyobolt battery was tested over two days this week – achieved a range of 120 miles after four minutes.

A Tesla charged to 80 percent would typically have a range of up to 200 miles.

Nyobolt said in its announcement that it’s ultra-fast charging batteries, featuring Nyobolt’s proprietary cell technology, eliminate slow and inconvenient recharge stops for electric vehicles.

Indeed, they charge at twice the speed of the fastest-charging vehicles on the road without the degradation typically associated with lithium-ion batteries.

Nyobolt stated that independent testing of its battery technology by a leading global OEM had confirmed that Nyobolt’s longer lasting and more sustainable batteries can achieve over 4,000 fast charge cycles, or 600,000 miles, maintaining over 80 percent battery capacity retention.

Nyobolt said it is in talks with eight OEMs about using its technology in high performance EVs

Cambridge-based Nyobolt was founded back in 2019, and has utilised patented carbon and metal oxide anode materials, low impedance cell design, integrated power electronics and software controls to create power dense battery and charging systems.

Battery performance

It said that independent OEM testing has confirmed the fast charging, long-cycle life performance of the cells. Charging the EV using today’s powerful 350kW (800V) DC fast chargers has confirmed that Nyobolt EV’s 50Ah 35kWh battery can be fully charged in six minutes – or charged from 10 percent to 90 percent in under five minutes – with a full charge enabling the prototype to achieve a range of 155 WLTP miles.

That is twice the speed of most of the fastest charging vehicles today. Furthermore, as the first four minutes are at a constant current of 500A, this provides 120 miles of range after just four minutes of charging, it said.

“Despite some OEMs showing fast charge times in the region of 15 minutes, a closer inspection reveals the charge is usually across a limited SOC region specifically chosen to limit the amount of life taken out of the cell; for instance, between 20-80 percent,” said Nyobolt’s co-founder and CEO, Dr Sai Shivareddy.

“Typically, the charge profile will only hold these peak charge levels for a short amount of the charge time,” said Dr Shivareddy. “Nyobolt’s low impedance cells ensure we can offer sustainability, stretching out the battery’s usable life for up to 600,000 miles in the case of our technology demonstrator.”

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Solution for all EVs?

“We can enable OEMs to build excitement back into the segment, which is literally weighed down by legacy battery technology currently,” added Shane Davies, Nyobolt’s director of vehicle battery systems.

“Our Nyobolt EV demonstrates the efficiency gains facilitated by our fast-charging, longer-life battery technology, enabling capacity to be right-sized while still delivering the required performance,” said Davies.

“Nyobolt is removing the obstacle of slow and inconvenient charging, making electrification appealing and accessible to those who don’t have the time for lengthy charging times or space for a home charger,” said Davies.

Nyobolt said that it’s battery assembly plans are more advanced and could be in production at low volume within a year, ramping to 1,000 packs in 2025.

Nyobolt’s flexible manufacturing model enables volumes of up to two million cells per year. Nyobolt’s battery will also comply with the EU’s Battery Regulation requirements once in production.

“Our extensive research here in the UK and US has unlocked a novel battery technology that is ready and scalable right now,” concluded Dr Shivareddy.

“We are enabling the electrification of new products and services currently considered inviable or impossible. Creating real-world demonstrators, such as the Nyobolt EV, underlines both our readiness and commitment to making the industries see change is possible.”