BP Ventures has provided US$20 million in funding to an Israeli startup that makes ultrafast-charging batteries, which aims to make it possible for electric cars to charge in just five minutes—in a time comparable to filling a tank with gas, the supermajor said today. “Ultra-fast charging is at the heart of BP’s electrification strategy. StoreDot’s technology shows real potential for car batteries that can charge in the same time it takes to fill a gas tank,” BP Downstream’s chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said. StoreDot has already developed an ultrafast-charging lithium-ion battery for mobile devices, and now plans to use the technology for car batteries. The mobile devices battery should become commercially available next year, but there is no timeline for the car battery. Charging times are one of the biggest challenges on the road to widespread EV adoption, about as big as the reliability of batteries. The fact that […]