An EV that charges 30% faster? Volvo and Breathe think their tech can do it

Enlarge / Volvo's electric powertrains are going to get a bit smarter with Breathe's new real-time battery-management system. (credit: Volvo )

Would you like an electric vehicle that can charge up to 30 percent faster than the current breed? If so, you're not alone—Volvo Cars thinks that's a desirable outcome, too, which is why the carmaker has invested in and partnered with a British startup called Breathe Battery Technologies. Consequently, Volvo will be the first automaker to add Breathe's new battery management technology to its EVs, although, before too long you should see Breathe's tech show up in other EVs, as well as consumer tech devices.

A spinoff out of Imperial College in London, Breathe wants to add some extra brainpower to battery management.

"The frustration that everyone feels is that cell manufacturers brute force and empirically test batteries until they die," explained Ian Campbell, CEO of Breathe. "They ship the data sheet alongside those batteries that has some numbers baked in, that says "control it according to this A4 piece of paper," and that significantly underutilizes the complex electrochemistry and materials in the system that they built and shipped."