The question is how to make EVs faster to recharge and accelerate their adoption. Current lithium-ion batteries are slow to charge, but there might be a breakthrough at Harvard University, where the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) is developing a solid-state that can be charged in minutes – just like filling a petrol tank.

The new type of battery can be charged and discharged at least 6,000 times and replaces the electrolyte with non-liquid materials.

“Lithium metal anode batteries are considered the holy grail of batteries because they have ten times the capacity of commercial graphite anodes and could drastically increase the driving distance of electric vehicles,” said Xin Li, Associate Professor of Materials Science at SEAS and senior author of the paper. “Our research is an important step toward more practical solid state batteries for industrial and commercial applications.”

The research is published in Nature Materials.

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