British oil and gas multinational, BP, is turning its eyes firmly on electric after a $20 million injection into a new battery concept.
The company’s venture arm is investing in the Israeli battery startup StoreDot to work on a battery that can be recharged within five minutes.
The renewed interest is set against the vibrant electric vehicle market which has seen an annual 50 percent growth rate in global sales in 2017.
StoreDot says the rapid charging works thanks to flash batteries made from organic nanomaterials it designs, which it says are better at quickly absorbing a charge than traditional lithium-ion components.
The car battery system will be able to charge a vehicle with a range up to 300 miles in five minutes, according to the firm.
Tesla’s supercharger can refill a Model X, which has a battery range up to 565km in 30 minutes.
StoreDot stated its batteries will not make electric vehicles more expensive, but the likelihood is that they will be seen in mobile phones first.
The company says its flash batteries for mobile should be commercially available next year, according to the BP statement.
No date has been declared for the rapid-charging batteries for electric vehicles.
Better battery range and quicker charging, as well as convenient access to charging stations are key to mass adoption of electric cars.
BP has also invested $5 million in a US-based electric vehicle charging manufacturer to add charging points at its UK petrol stations.
“Ultra-fast charging is at the heart of BP’s electrification strategy,” said Tufan Erginbilgic, chief executive of BP’s product team. “We are committed to be the fuel provider of choice—no matter what car our customers drive.”
