Significant progress is being made in the realm of ultra-fast charging.
Ultra fast charging, also called high power charging or HPS, is a fast type of DC charging that can charge an electric vehicle’s (EV) battery in less than 30 minutes. A recent revolutionary advancement in EV technology has now blown this time out of the water, representing a significant leap forward in the capabilities of ultra-fast charging.
ULTRA-FAST CHARGING
The Ultevate Ultra battery module has been designed by Hofer Powertrain, a development and technology specialist in efficient powertrain solutions. The technology enables extremely rapid charging, taking vehicles from a state of charge (SOC) of 5% to 85% in just five minutes, and to 100% in eight minutes. Since making its debut at the LA AutoShow in 2023, the battery module has set new industry benchmarks.
One distinct advantage of the Ultevate Ultra system is that despite its high charging power, it generates very low heat and does not require active cooling. This feature not only makes the battery module more efficient, but also less maintenance-intensive and more durable to other battery technologies currently on the market. Ultevate Ultra delivers a charging current up to 1140A and a high charging power of over 1MW at the vehicle level.
“We always strive for the optimal power-to-energy ratio for our customer projects,” says Gerold Sluka, Managing Director of the Battery Development division at Hofer Powertrain. “Our goal is to continuously increase the energy content of a traction battery while simultaneously increasing the charging power.”
THE ULTEVATE PLATFORM
Hofer’s modular electric powertrain platform is made up of multiple types of electric drive units and battery solutions that can be carefully configured to meet the requirements of individual vehicle projects, including system integration and application.
Some of the technologies included in the Ultevate platform include the Ultevate TorVec EDU, a high-performance electric drive unit for electrified torque vectoring. The dual-motor torque vectoring system enables agile and stable handling of a vehicle in any driving situation, improving safety and comfort without compromising on performance. The Ultevate ar EDU Concentric Electric Drive, meanwhile, is a level five autonomous-ready inline EDU solution that enables a huge 600,000km-long operating lifetime. Offering significant reductions in service requirements with optimised NVH behaviour, it is a high-power, high-torque electric drive unit with a gear ratio of 11.9.
PARADIGM SHIFT IN EV CHARGING
According to Hofer, the development of the Ultevate Ultra system is particularly relevant in view of the increasing spread of charging infrastructure for EVs, as adoption and demand continues to increase ahead of the ban on new diesel and petrol vehicles by 2035. Over the next decade, it is expected that megawatt charging stations will become more common to enable greater and faster passenger car charging.
As Ultevate Ultra currently holds the title of fastest rechargeable battery technology for battery EVs (BEVs), the technology gives OEMs the opportunity to bring the most innovative EV drive and battery solutions to mass production much faster.
This latest ultra-fast charging capability slots into hofer’s portfolio of similar technologies that enable the charging of batteries in less than 10 minutes. These technologies are already successfully supporting customer projects in the area of fast-charging and are becoming increasingly popular, the company says. With Ultevate Ultra, there is now the potential to fundamentally change the way that we use EVs.
“We focus on efficient, robust and safe solutions to maximise technical progress,” explains Professor Dr Kai André Boehm, Battery Expert at Hofer Powertrain. “Our development foresight is based on the continuous exploration of new cell chemistries and cell manufacturers, in order to offer our customers future-proof technologies that can be specifically transferred into series in line with customer timelines.”