Have range anxiety? Samsung SDI wants to quell any fears that your electric car will run out of power before you can get more juice.
The battery subsidiary on Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit unveiled a next-generation battery cell for electric vehicles with a range of up to 372 miles that charges around 310 miles, or to 80 percent of its capacity, in just 20 minutes.
"This means that only 20min in the highway rest area will be enough for a battery to be charged, eliminating the range anxiety of EV drivers," Samsung SDI said.
On the down side, these new batteries are still a couple years away. Samsung SDI said it plans to start mass producing them in 2021.
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Still, electric cars with ranges exceeding 300 miles are not unheard of. Tesla over the summer unveiled a new, larger battery pack that produces 100kWh of electricity and is capable of taking the company's Model S P100D an estimated 315 miles on a single charge.
Meanwhile, Samsung SDI also today unveiled a new concept "integrated battery module," which boasts more than 24 cells with a capacity of 6 to 8kWh. A conventional EV battery module has 12 cells and a capacity of 2 to 3kWh. Samsung SDI said its integrated battery module is also safer and lighter.
"The high-energy density battery cell with the fast charging capability and the integrated battery module are the innovative technologies with full potentials that can transform the market," an exec said in a statement. "Expectations are high that we will be able to accelerate the vehicle electrification utilizing these technologies with improved driving range, manufacturing efficiency and user convenience."