Electrified Lotus Elise Charges To 100% In 6 Minutes

Nyobolt, a UK-based battery firm, has revealed its latest product wrapped up in this gorgeous body inspired by the original Lotus Elise.

Penned by Elise designer Julian Thomson with input from Ian Callum's design firm CALLUM, the "Nyobolt EV" as they're calling it is light, lower and longer than the original. Gone is the Toyota four-banger, replaced by electric power and a very special lithium-ion battery. Nyobolt says that their EV's 35 kWh power pack is capable of fast-charging up to 100% in less than six minutes with none of the usual drawbacks that come with jamming that many electrons into a battery so quickly.

The resulting battery can be smaller and lighter than its less advanced cousins while providing about 155 miles of range in the quoted six minutes with existing infrastructure in this package.

None of the Drawbacks
As a rule of thumb, frequent DC fast-charging causes battery capacity to decline at a faster rate than if the same battery was charged on a slower level 2 AC charger. Nyobolt believes that their unique chemistry solves this problem, and they've reportedly put the pack through more than 2000 fast-charging cycles without a significant drop-off in performance.

Aside from saying that the batteries utilize "new materials, cell designs, efficient software control and power electronics" the team at Nyobolt is playing their cards close to their chest on exactly how they've achieved this.

Low Impact, High Scalability
Batteries that can charge more quickly will bring EVs closer to ICE vehicles in the time it takes to refuel them, and as more and more charging stations pop up around the country they won't need to travel as far between charges. Smaller batteries mean less weight, fewer resources needed for each pack and reduced running costs. Nyobolt also says that the technology can be scaled up for larger EVs, trucks and buses all while maintaining that lightning-fast charge time, especially once 1 MW commercial chargers become available.

“Unlocking the challenges faced by electric vehicle designers has been key to the development of our breakthrough fast-charging batteries. Previously, enabling a light weight fast-charging vehicle was not possible without compromising its lifetime and so people have been relying on costly and large battery packs in the vehicle. With our unique technology we have achieved a six-minute charge car, and developed smaller battery packs that can deliver more power and charge in less time." - Sai Shivareddy, CEO at Nyobolt

The new battery technology is reportedly "ready to deploy" and will enter production in 2024 ready for "immediate application and rapid scale-up." Nyobolt's website is scant on details, but if the batteries are everything the company promises they are this could be a game-changer for the electric-vehicle industry. Of course, it wouldn't be the first time we've heard astonishing claims from experimental battery manufacturers...

Image by Nyobolt licensed by CC BY 4.0.

James Walker is an Automotive Journalist at Torque News focusing on Lucid Motors. If it's got wheels he's interested, and he's looking forward to seeing what kind of cars the EV revolution brings us. Whether it's fast, slow, new, or old, James wants to have a look around it and share it in print and on video, ideally with some twisty roads involved. You can connect with James on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.