Lotus has unveiled an ultra-fast 450kW charger, and no, it’s not lightweight

Back in 2018 Lotus announced its ‘Vision80’ strategy, which in plain English essentially means it’ll be an all-electric company by 2028. In marketing speak, we’re told that it will “transform the brand from a British sports car maker to an all-electric global luxury technology brand”.

As part of that ‘journey’ (their phrase, not ours) Lotus has now announced a suite of EV charging solutions (again, not our phrase) which includes a really-rather-rapid 450kW DC charger.

We’re told the ultra-fast charger could provide the Eletre R SUV with a very specific 88.5 miles of range in just five minutes, and Lotus says that according to a survey by the Energy Policy Institute, nearly 80 per cent of the American public cite a lack of charging infrastructure as their main reason for not buying an EV.

So, to go along with that very speedy liquid-cooled charger, Lotus has also developed a liquid-cooled ‘power cabinet’ that can boost power outputs at places like motorway service stations up to 480kW. That pairs with the smaller liquid-cooled charging unit and can apparently charge up to four EVs at once. Whole lot of liquid cooling going on.

Apparently the charging infrastructure is available today in China and should be rolled out in Europe and the Middle East in 2024. Is Lotus about to blow Tesla’s V3 Supercharger out of the water?