The quest for faster EV charging reached another milestone this month as Israeli battery maker StoreDot demonstrated its silicon-dominant EV battery technology in a prototype Polestar electric car. In the demonstration, the company was able to reach sustained charging rates of over 310 kW and peak charging rates of 370 kW. This allowed them to charge the prototype Polestar 5’s 77 kWh battery from 10% to 82% in just 10 minutes.
Consumer fast charging speeds for EVs remain one of the few barriers to wide-scale EV adoption. Current EVs like the Tesla Model 3 or Model Y can attain 10% to 80% charging in 20-25 minutes on compatible 250kW DC fast chargers, but as EVs become more popular, particularly in urban environments and with ride-share drivers, every minute of charging counts. Faster charging rates allow DC fast charging stations to service more cars per stall per day.
The company stated that it “remains on track with production-readiness of our XFC cells that deliver 100 miles charged in 5 minutes this year. We aim to deliver 100 miles charged in 4 minutes in 2026 and 100 miles charged in 3 minutes by 2028.”StoreDot’s lithium-ion battery chemistry uses silicon rather than graphite in the battery anode.