Electric car battery charges in under five minutes in track test

An electric car battery developed by UK start-up Nyobolt has successfully charged from 10% to 80% in four minutes and 37 seconds in its first live demonstration.

It was achieved with a specially-built concept sports car on a test track in Bedford, and is part of industry-wide efforts to get electric vehicles (EVs) charging more quickly.

By comparison, an existing Tesla supercharger can charge a car battery to 80% in 15-20 minutes.

Experts say eliminating so-called “range anxiety” is key to increasing uptake of EVs – but also stress the importance of improving the charging infrastructure.

“Developing technology that enables people to charge more quickly, which chimes with the time it currently takes to re-fuel a car – is really important,” Paul Shearing, Professor of Sustainable Energy Engineering at Oxford University, told the BBC.

But he added there needed to be more chargers of all types.

“People are going to want fast-charging infrastructure, independent of what car they’re using – everyone wants to do this more quickly,” he said.

The sports car the Nyobolt battery was fitted to – which was tested over two days this week – achieved a range of 120 miles after four minutes

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