Lucid Motors announced that its upcoming all-electric sedan, the Lucid Air, is “the fastest charging electric car ever offered.” The company claims that the air will have the capacity to charge at rates of up to 20 miles per minute – which translates to 300 miles in about 20 minutes.
This charging time is possible by using a 900-volt charger with a peak charging percentage of more than 300 kW. By comparison, Tesla’s V3 Supercharger can pump out 250 kW, which comes out to about 15 miles per minute of charge.
Lucid is teaming up with Electrify America, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, to build a network of fast chargers like this. These chargers, which will use standard Combined Charging System chargers, will roll out to some of Electrify America’s 2,000 public charging stations, although the exact number and timeline are not yet known.
The news follows Lucid’s announcement last week that the Air will have a record-breaking 517 mil range – a 28 percent improvement over the longest-accessible EV currently available, the Tesla Model S Long Range Plus.
Electric cars often take a while to charge, but the exact time varies from car to car and requires a lot of variables such as the power source and the charging capacity of the car. Motorists have worked to reduce that charging time to broaden the appeal of EVs.
As for that, Lucid thinks it has a winner on its hands. The company is also developing a home charger that it claims will be “the first AC charging stations with two-way charging ever offered.” Most EV chargers are unidirectional, which means that electricity flows from the electrical net to the car. Lucid claims that its chargers will stream two ways, i.e. two-way. This allows customers to use their Lucid Air to support their homes as an “off-grid holiday home,” Lucid Motors said.
The advances in reach and charge time are not surprising given the history of Lucid. Founded in 2007 as battery maker Atieva, the California EV launch was originally intended to be more of a supplier in the booming world of electric cars. But the company eventually recognized it as Lucid Motors in 2016 and set its sights on making a luxury electric sedan.
Meanwhile, Atieva had raised a few hundred million dollars and a revenue stream from his battery company, which has all-electric racing series Formula E as a customer. What better stress test for your power supply system than racing at high speed?
