Enabling extreme fast charging with energy storage

How do we facilitate extreme fast charging (XFC)?

Three pathways are established to facilitate extreme fast charging (XFC): new electrodes and electrolytes, charging protocol optimization, and thermal management intervention. In a recent issue of , Zeng et al. pioneered a thermal Nature Communications management approach for XFC.

What is fast charging in Electrical Engineering?

The electrical engineering pathway focuses on optimizing fast charging currents at different SoCs and/or voltages through experimentation, modeling, or a combination of both. Typical fast charging protocols include multi-step constant current, variable current profile, pulse charging, constant power charging, and boost charging.

How fast does XFC charge a cathode?

Enabling extreme fast charging (XFC, ≤10–15 min charging) requires a comprehensive understanding of its implications. While lithium plating is a key bottleneck for the anode, the full extent of limitations for the cathode are not well-understood, particularly in extended-cycle settings with well-defined battery designs and conditions.

What are the different types of fast charging protocols?

Typical fast charging protocols include multi-step constant current, variable current profile, pulse charging, constant power charging, and boost charging. We view the advantages of this pathway as its cost-effectiveness and adaptability, as the optimization process is software-based and requires minimal additional hardware.

Does capacity-controlled charging produce high impedance growth?

The capacity-controlled charging in Raj et al.’s study drove the upper charge-cutoff voltage to about 4.9 V; consequently, it produced very high impedance growth .

Is fatigue mechanism more sensitive to depth of charge than charging rate?

The fatigue mechanism is found to be more sensitive to depth of charge in constant current mode than charging rate and, for this reason, reduced cracking was observed at higher rates than at lower rates.