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electric vehicle battery components picture
Climate Tech Technology

Will it be possible to charge electric car in 10 minutes? Toyota thinks so …

Toyota thinks it will be possible to charge an electric car in less than 10 minutes in the next 5 years. Not only that, but the size, weight and cost of the EV batteries can all be halved.

It will be a grand revolution if indeed this is actualized. The Japanese carmaker said it had made a technological breakthrough in this regard and would be producing these electric batteries by 2027.

One would have expected such news for the leading electric car makers such as Tesla, BYD or Rivian. Not Toyota, even though it is the world’s second largest carmaker generally.

The last time Toyota was in the news in relation to electric cars in June 2023, its adverts were being banned for exaggerating, er, lying about the speed their electric batteries could be charged. Well, they also lied about the spread of their charging stations in the UK. In their company was Hyundai, so it is not just a Toyota thing to try to get ahead unscrupulously in this electric car revolution.

A month earlier, Toyota was actually recalling 2700 units of its maiden production over some cringy ‘wheels could fall off’ concerns.

Let’s say that every tech company has its moments, and indeed the technological breakthrough as first reported by the Financial Times is what Toyota thinks it is. It could be revolutionary.

First, the monstrous look of electric batteries is what makes most people cringe. Second, the range electric cars cover before their next recharge is usually off-putting. Then there is the initial cost of acquiring these cars … and electric motorcycles.

But Toyota said the envisioned solid-based battery could cover 1,200km. Fantastic!

That’s a range that could work well for Africa. At the moment, most of the electric bikes here cover just 80km – 100km. And the charging stations and battery swap stations aren’t that widespread.

For buses, the range is about 400km. In fact, charging stations for electric cars are so scarce and probably unheard-of outside Nairobi. It is just recently that the first public charging station was launched. It’d take you at least 2 hours to recharge your car.

According to David Bailey, a professor of business economics at the University of Birmingham who spoke with The Guardian, scaling up of breakthrough inventions such as the one reported by Toyota is normally the biggest challenge.

But if they will get it off the ground, we are in for an interesting future in the electric car industry. With such news of possibilities, no one would be surprised at how fast the major electric car makers in the world will be interested in making it happen first at their companies.

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Hillary Namunyu is a communications expert, an accomplished author and journalist who covers a wide range of social issues including technology and tech trends, business, climate and culture as well as conflict and international relations. He is the managing editor at The Lead KE. Send queries, press releases and tips to theleadkenya@gmail.com