A NASA technology developed in collaboration with Purdue University researchers for future space missions can charge an electric car in just five minutes on Earth, potentially paving the way for increased electric vehicle adoption.
Purdue University’s charging cable can deliver 2,400 amperes, far exceeding the 1,400 amperes required to reduce charging time to five minutes, according to NASA.
The team, led by Issam Mudawar and sponsored by NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division, developed the Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment (FBCE) to enable two-phase fluid flow and heat transfer experiments to be conducted in the International Space Station’s long-duration microgravity environment.
When compared to other approaches, this new “subcooled flow boiling” technique significantly improves heat transfer effectiveness and could be used to control the temperatures of future space systems.
This technology may also have applications on Earth, such as making owning an electric car more appealing.
Currently, EV charging times range from 20 minutes at a roadside station to hours using an at-home charging station.
Long charging times and charger location are both cited as major concerns among those considering purchasing an electric vehicle.
According to researchers, reducing charging time for electric vehicles to five minutes (an industry goal) will necessitate charging systems that provide 1,400 amperes of current.
Mudawar’s team recently applied the NASA FBCE experiments’ “subcooled flow boiling” principles to the electric vehicle charging process.
By removing up to 24.22 kilowatts of heat, Mudawar’s team is able to deliver 4.6 times the current of the fastest available electric vehicle chargers on the market today.
“Application of this new technology resulted in unprecedented reduction of the time required to charge a vehicle and may remove one of the key barriers to worldwide adoption of electric vehicles,” said the researchers.