An Electric Car Loaded in 5 Minutes

Toshiba announces a new plant to mass-produce the batteries to charge quickly adapted to the automotive sector. The goal recharge an electric car in 5 minutes …

Already developed for electronic and computer industries, such SCiB (Super Charge ion Battery) would reduce the charge time significantly. According to Toshiba, five minutes is sufficient to charge 90% of the lithium battery, a time comparable to the time required for a full tank of gas.

Another advantage is that these batteries SCiB can be used daily for more than ten years experience and 6000 charge-discharge cycles without significant loss of performance, says the Japanese lithium battery manufacturer.

Recharge time now: a half-hour to several hours

Toshiba, which already has a manufacturing plant SCiB batteries, is expected to open its second production site in spring 2011. The company expects to produce 500,000 cells per month in the first year and increase its production rate to provide manufacturers of electric cars or plug-in hybrids on the sector, such as future Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera.

Currently, electric cars developed by the manufacturers claim tens of minutes to recharge their lithium-ion battery. The Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which will be marketed in Europe by the end of 2010, require 30 minutes to charge 80% of the capacity of their battery for a specific terminal or even several hours from a household outlet of 200 volts.