New VarEVolt battery promises full recharge in just 18s

LONDON: In what sounds like science fiction, a British company says it's poised to start producing a battery for electric vehicles that can recharge to full power in an astounding 18 seconds.

With a charging time that, if true, is a tiny fraction of what's required for a current EV battery to refill, the VarEVolt battery was designed for hypercars by the UK's performance car company RML Group.

VarEVolt says the battery is now set for limited production after the parent company received the Conformity of Production (CoP) approval in June.

This UK certification is widely seen as a minimum benchmark for suppliers who wish to work with major automotive manufacturers with reliable results and safety standards.

The high-density battery has been trialled in the Czinger C21 hybrid hypercar.

For comparison, Porsche says its Taycan - one of the fastest electric cars in the world when it comes to recharging - needs 18 minutes to recharge from 10% to 80%.

Such batteries are coupled to ultra-quick electric motors which can zip from zero to 100 km/h more quickly than any liquid-fuelled engine.

Mid-range and entry-level electric cars meanwhile often need several hours to recharge. This, combined with the limited range of many EVs, has slowed the switch to electric mobility, given that combustion engine cars can be refuelled in seconds.