Volvo to test ‘extremely fast charging’ technology for EVs that could give the company an enormous leg up: ‘There is a huge amount of work to do’

Improving battery technology is at the forefront of the competition between various brands to dominate the electric vehicle market.

Volvo, which previously threw its hat into the ring with an investment into a type of battery technology that its creators say could offer 100 miles of charge in just five minutes, may be testing out the technology as soon as next year.

The technology, known as extreme fast charging (XFC), is being developed by an Israeli startup called StoreDot. Volvo reportedly invested in the company through its venture capital arm, Volvo Cars Tech Fund, in 2022. At the time, the company said that the XFC tech would be ready in 2024.

Although that timeline now seems unlikely, Volvo and StoreDot are now reportedly moving forward with the plan to test out the technology. “Our teams are now working together at pace, developing B-sample cells for Volvo Cars’ next-generation fully electric architectures,” StoreDot’s CEO said. “There is a huge amount of work to do, optimizing all aspects of the system to meet Volvo’s exacting requirements.”

StoreDot was also rumored at one point to be courting an investment from Tesla, although it is not clear what, if anything, happened with that.

Whether or not the XFC tech works out, Volvo has been clear in its commitment to making EVs the core of its future business — the Swedish brand recently announced plans to become a fully electric car brand by 2030, which will involve a major restructuring of the company.

Other EV tech that Volvo is investing in includes one company that recycles EV batteries into battery energy storage systems.

Autoweek’s commenters were mostly dubious about how revolutionary the XFC tech is, although some were optimistic.

“More Vapor Ware,” wrote one skeptical commenter. “… Let’s do it correctly and build longer range, and recyclable batteries first!”

“Not so revolutionary, but certainly great,” another wrote. “E-GMP cars already charge fast. An efficient Ioniq 5 can recover 88 miles in 9 minutes. Ok, it’s not 100 miles in 5 minutes, but if I stop to charge and walk into a restaurant to pee and grab a snack, the car will have already recovered nearly 200 miles of range.”

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