A startup company has developed a solid-state battery suitable for electric cars that can be fully charged in minutes and lasts more than twice the life of current (lithium-ion) batteries, according to the newspaper, "The Independent", on Wednesday.
After the battery cell prototype achieved success with charging rates of three minutes and more than 10,000 cycles in a lifetime, Harvard-affiliated Adden Energy received $5.15 million in funding to further develop the technology, with the aim of commercializing it in the near future.
The rapid development of clean energy storage technology is critical to combating climate change, according to the startup.
William Fitzhog, CEO of Adden Energy, hopes the new battery will appeal to the 37 percent of Americans who don't have garages at home and can't charge electric cars overnight.
He said that this technology aims to reduce the time of charging electric car batteries, to become similar to the time of filling traditional cars with fuel.
It is estimated that switching fuel-powered cars to electric could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 16 percent.
Solid-state batteries are considered "attractive" to automakers because they are more energy-dense and less prone to ignition, compared to liquid lithium-ion batteries. However, it is prone to cracking and is currently more expensive to produce, according to Reuters.