A company is developing a fancy electrolyte to charge EV batteries four times faster

A company called 24M Technologies has created an electrolyte called Eternalyte that it reckons will revolutionise the way electric car batteries work. Big claims, but it might be onto something.

Rather than switching out to a solid-state electrolyte, this special sauce (the recipe for which is kept under wraps) makes the ions move between the anode and cathode more quickly and at a greater rate.

The result? A charge rate four times faster than conventional batteries, giving around 186 miles of juice in less than four minutes, using – get this – standard charge points. Yup, there’s no need for ultra-fast charging infrastructure. Granted, 24M’s own spec sheet states the gravimetric energy density of the battery cell is 350Wh/kg, and Merc’s working on solid-state batteries with 450Wh/kg power density.

Still, 24M’s proprietary liquid electrolyte has other cool properties, literally. Where cold weather can reduce current battery capacity by about 25 per cent at freezing point, the boffins at 24M reckon Eternalyte helps a battery maintain all of its usability at 0°C and more than 80 per cent capacity if you get down as low as -40°C. Since we haven’t any polar expeditions planned, we’ll take their word for it.

Eternalyte has been developed for lithium-ion batteries, but the laboratory tests have shown similar results in lithium-metal, silicone-based and graphite-based batteries, too. There’s also improvement in the battery lifecycle.

Naoki Ota, 24M Technologies boss, said: "24M’s Eternalyte electrolyte breakthrough solves some of the biggest challenges of lithium-ion batteries today. Rapid charge, superior low-temperature performance and great cycle life with lithium-metal and other high energy density chemistries, Eternalyte provides outstanding performance for applications ranging from EVs to consumer products. It paves the way for next-gen batteries, including lithium metal, with 1,600-kilometer driving range and years of reliable performance.”

Almost 1,000 miles on a single charge sounds like progress, right?