One of the most challenging things about owning an electric vehicle (EV) is battery range, and just how long charging these batteries typically takes. A company based out of Ottawa, Canada, called GBatteries is trying to solve this charge time dilemma.
GBatteries was started in 2014 to help accelerate the use of EVs by reducing the time it takes for a charge without affecting the lifecycle of the battery.
Conventional batteries that charge quickly do not last very long, which is why battery manufacturers limit the speed of charging so the batteries can have a decent life span.
GBatteries has created a special adaptive pulse charging algorithm, which allows nearly all off-the-shelf lithium-ion batteries to be charged faster without shortening the lifecycle. They use artificial intelligence (AI) to constantly send varying currents in micro pulses. The AI determines when to send the pulses, at the correct voltage, without degrading the battery.
Normally batteries must deal with impedance during a charge, this affects the state of battery health and normally changes rapidly during a charge.
With GBatteries, ChargeSense AI technology can detect when the batteries are at the optimal low impedance phase for charging. It knows when to stop charging and allows for some depolarization to take place, this, in turn, saves the battery from the irreversible chemistry that would normally occur. This not only allows for faster charging but also keeps the temperature down and prevents overheating or fires.
This technology has now been tested on hundreds of batteries over thousands of hours, resulting in the ability for ultra-fast charging for energy cells between 100mAh to 60Ah. This would include small products like watches for EVs.
Company Chief Commercial Officer and co-founder Tim Sherstyuk said:
For something like a consumer vehicle, it’s going to be a while, the typical design cycle for a vehicle is five to seven years. And you also need to take technology validation into account. We’re working with electric vehicle manufacturers today, but it’s a long process.
Work still needs to be done and each battery is a little different in terms of the chemistry, but they are hopeful that in the not so distant future an EV could be charged in as little as 5 minutes. This would depend on the power of the charging system.
I am excited for this technology to advance further, so we can improve on our emissions and have GBatteries’ company mission become a reality for more people; to drive EVs that are efficient and have shorter charge times.
