Chinese automotive giant Geely has unveiled what appears to be the world’s fastest EV charging, with a new system that peaks at more than 2,250kW.
The firm says its ultra-powerful device and AI management system allow it to charge a Zeekr 001 with a 100kWh battery from 10% to 70% in just four minutes, 30 seconds.
The revelation is a major two fingers up to Chinese rival BYD, which has just begun European roll-out of its Flash Charging system, which operates at up to 1,500kW.
Geely, which owns Polestar, Volvo, Lotus and more, says that its fifth-generation 2.25mW device can take the Zeekr from 10-97% charge in just eight minutes 40 seconds. That’s half the time a 95kWh Volvo EX60 will take to get from 10-80%. BYD says its Flash Charging will get a Denza Z9 GT from 10-97% in nine minutes.
The real-world testing of the new system was conducted using a Zeekr 001 and Lynk & Co 10 fitted with new 12C batteries which support higher peak charging rates.
Geely’s system uses an industry-first five-point liquid cooling system and new AI thermal management to keep every element of the charging process at the optimal temperature. The system is designed to keep the battery at between 55 and 65 degrees celsius, and can predict and manage fluctuations in temperature up to 30 second in advance. It also constantly coordinates the vehicle, battery, charging station, cloud, grid and energy storage systems to deliver its record-breaking charge times.
Constant high-power charging is know to be bad for battery health, but Geely claims to have addressed this with lithium-ion pulse restoration technology. This uses micro-pulse currents to reactivate lithium ions accumulated at the negative electrodes during repeated fast charging. This, Geely says, can reverse damage from fast charging and add up to 20% more battery life cycle.
