Why are we not already able to “instant-charge” EVs, smartphones or other batteries?
In: Physics
We actually have things capable of ‘instant charging’: Capacitors.
Granted, they’re not as energy dense as batteries. But their use could be expanded into some more areas if we wanted.
That aside. Think of the logistics of ‘Instant’ charging a car. A 100kW/h pack would need to be hooked up to a 100kW charger for a full hour to charge up. To get that charge time down to a half hour, it would need something that could supply 200kW continuously. If you wanted 15 minutes then a 400kW supply is needed. That’s larger than the supposedly ‘future proof’ 350kW chargers that are the current big boys on the block.
Let’s jump ahead. To get to a sub minute time (which I assume is good enough to meet the definition of ‘instant’), you need a plug capable of delivering ~6.4 MEGAWATTS OF POWER. Basically you need to plug directly into a power plant… for one car. Good luck lifting that cable. Now multiply that one monster energy pump by every single car that needs to juice up.
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