Geely's 600kW charging tech ready for prime time

PETALING JAYA: If you thought 360kW charging is fast, yes it is. But 600kW is even better and the technology to do that has arrived.

The world of batteries and charging are moving at a rapid clip, showing no signs of plateauing. We can expect even more exciting developments to come in the future.

At present, car makers as well as Formula E are working on 600kW charging of electric cars, which is currently the fastest there is.

Take Geely for example. Its heavy investment in fast charging over the years is paying off with its recent unveiling of a 600kW charging technology that it claims can add 300km of electric vehicle driving range in just five minutes.

The 600kW chargers are ready for series production and will be limited to China for now.

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The 600kW charger was developed by Geely subsidiary Viridi E-mobility Technology. Apparently, the extreme charging was made possible by tweaking the liquid cooling module so that it allows for that level of charging without overheating.

According to Geely, only the Zeekr 01 EV is able to charge at this speed as it uses CATL’s latest Qilin ultra-long range battery that promises up to 1,000km of range. Zeekr is an electric sub-brand under Geely.

With technology moving so fast, it is only a matter of time before more new EVs like the Zeekr 009 MPV and other brands in Geely's stable will be able to charge at 600kW.

It was only last month that China's Xpeng Motors was showing how its 480kW charger can add 210km in 5 minutes to its G9 SUV. Nio is upping the stakes with a 500kW charger.