As know-how advances, electrical vehicles are bettering their fast-charging occasions. Which means much less time spent ready at a DC public charger whenever you’re out on the street. Whereas Stage 3 chargers used to supply a most of 150 kilowatts of energy, 350-kW chargers are turn into extra widespread, making for super-fast charging … in case your automotive is able to profiting from it. So how do automakers enhance the charging velocity of their EV batteries? Some are turning to increased voltage, particularly 800V charging.
What is the distinction between 800-volt charging and 400-volt charging?
So how does 800V charging enhance upon the extra widespread 400V EVs? Put merely, the upper the voltage, the much less amperage (present) it requires to cost. In different phrases, with extra voltage, you get extra wattage (energy, aka cost fee) from the identical amperage (present).
800V structure can be extra environment friendly, with much less electrical resistance, so it might use thinner cables and smaller, lighter elements whereas needing much less cooling. The tradeoff is that it’s extra pricey, and guess who that price will get handed on to. Whereas automakers do not break down their pricing to indicate how far more you are paying for that 800V system, you will simply have to guage any potential purchases as an entire, and make your choice primarily based on general pricing of the automobile. Fortunately, the 800V EVs on sale now are typically ones we like.
Now, 800V charging functionality would not essentially imply an EV has 800V automobile structure. For example, the GMC Hummer EV and Chevy Silverado EV function at 400V, however with their twin battery packs, can change to 800V when charging by quickly connecting these packs in sequence.
At the moment, there are solely a handful of EVs out there with 800V charging. But when you will end up taking longer journeys in your EV and utilizing DC quick chargers extra typically, you would possibly wish to take into account selecting one with this sooner charging functionality. With that in thoughts, these are the EVs out there with 800V charging, both on sale now or coming in 2024.
800-volt EVs out there in 2024
*Coming later in 2024
