High-speed charging claim for Lithium-ion
Vancouver-based AccelRate Power Systems Inc., a developer of battery-enhancing charging technologies, revealed this week it has successfully demonstrated a way to safely reduce the charge time of Lithium-ion batteries from two hours to less than a half hour — in other words, a charge-time decrease of more than 75 per cent. A test that has been ongoing since last August proved that such a quick charge could be done without overheating the battery or compromising performance. “This feature should allow more robust battery performance and greatly reduce the concern about heat generation for high-charge rate applications,” the company stated.
AccelRate has already demonstrated that its chargers can cut charge time with conventional lead-acid, nickel metal hydride and nickel cadmium batteries by 80 per cent. Doing pretty much the same for Lithium-ion technology is important because it opens up one of the fastest-growing battery markets, particularly as Lithium-ion systems gain a foothold in the market for electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The ability, say, to charge an electric car battery in less than an hour could serve as a major boost to an EV movement already benefitting from momentum.
Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
