A huge change is due for the EV market, thanks to an emerging battery technology.
What's more, this advancement is coming from a name you might not associate with EV tech.
As something of a petrolhead, I find the best EVs to be a really exciting prospect. There really is no feeling quite as impressive as acceleration, and EVs have that in spades.
I've personally loved testing cars like the Porsche Taycan and the Abarth 500e Turismo. But for me, there's still one barrier which stops me from owning one – and it's the same for a lot of prospective EV owners.
While we've seen the range of these cars increase significantly over the years, charge time is still a sticking point. A full top-up – even from a fast charger – can still take the best part of an hour. Compare that to the matter of minutes lost to filling a fossil fuelled car, and it's not hard to see why users are sceptical.
Fortunately, there is a solution – and it's being developed by an unlikely source. Samsung's battery division is currently working on a new solid-state battery which can provide up to 600 miles of range from a single charge. That was announced as part of the SNE Battery Day 2024, held in Seoul, Korea.
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What's more, that battery can be recharged in just nine minutes. That's a massive step, and would make the experience of owning an EV much more palatable for most people.
What's more, the brand say that their batteries will have a lifespan of 20 years. That will aid public perception of the vehicles from another angle, dispelling ideas that these batteries don't have a significant life ahead of them.
It's not just some far off idea, either. The brand is already testing these batteries with some of its partners in the manufacturing arena. They state that the first commercially available cars with this technology will be on sale in 2027.
The only downside is that this technology isn't coming cheap. The brand has announced that it will debut on the premium end of the market. That's not uncommon for emerging technology, though.
I, for one, hope that it takes hold. I've been calling for exactly this change for years now, and seeing that it could finally be on the horizon is an incredibly exciting prospect.
