Electric cars charge in a few minutes: from utopia to reality

Electric driving with charging times that are 'pit stop worthy': it seems like a utopia, but according to the InMotion student team from Eindhoven University of Technology, it will soon become a reality. The students won the Best Student Team Award from the Royal Institute of Engineers in April 2023 for 'electric refueling', an innovative fast charging technology for electric cars. FHI spoke with team manager Julia Niemeijer and her colleague, partnership manager Hieke van Heesch, in the run-up to the Electronics & Applications fair where InMotion gives a lecture about the technology behind fast charging.

“An important reason that people are not yet switching en masse to electric driving is the long charging times,” Niemeijer explains. While you can fill up the tank within a few minutes at the petrol pump, it takes between twenty and forty minutes at the fast charger. If you charge your car at home or on your street, you will spend even more time: between six and ten hours (source: ANWB).

This should and can be done faster, the students at InMotion believe. The team has an ambitious mission. Van Heesch: “We want the charging times of an electric car to ultimately be as short as at a gas station. We will then continue to develop until we achieve pit stop-worthy charging times with our racing car.”

Legendary car race
InMotion's ultimate goal is to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the legendary car race for enduranceenthusiasts. Fast charging times and a battery pack that lasts a long time are strict conditions for all participants. The team therefore has a completely new one batterypack developed with an internal cooling system so that the batteries never overheat. “If batteries get too hot, it has a negative effect on performance. That is why we started looking for a technology that allows us to cool the battery pack at cell level. That wasn't easy as we had to put the new pack in our current battery box. This required solutions that are extremely accurate,” says Niemeijer.

Extreme conditions
“Our current package charges in twelve minutes and has the same capacity as a Tesla model 3,” Van Heesch explains. “This shows that electric driving is the future. If our car can compete under the extreme conditions of Le Mans, it is certainly possible under normal highway conditions.” The team members consciously opted for circularity by using the existing car, the Revolutionto improve technically. “The InMotion team changes every year, but the team members from previous years remain involved. The solidarity is enormous. We have a joint every week meeting where we exchange knowledge and tips. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we build on the experiences of our predecessors with the Revolution. It is a shame to just throw away all the materials, even though that is not necessary at all. That just costs time and money,” says Van Heesch.

Full-fledged LMP 3 car
The Revolution is now a full-fledged LMP 3 car. “We tested at various circuits to gain experience, including the Zandvoort Circuit,” Niemeijer continues. “This year the focus is still on technology, so that the 24 Hours of Le Mans comes one step closer. The technology has now been developed to such an extent that we can also focus on the sporting aspects next year. We work with professional drivers who have the necessary racing licenses and who have gained racing experience with similar cars.”

Sleeping in the office
Cooperation contributes significantly to the success of the Revolution. “We design everything ourselves, but we do get help from partners. Despite the global components crisis, we have achieved our goals and we are proud of that. We are very happy with the help from companies and research institutions, but we also work hard for it ourselves. Sometimes we drive to England to pick up a certain part, or we sleep in the office because we don't want to lose time. Everyone is really super driven and enthusiastic,” says Niemeijer.

Although the InMotion team is making great progress, Niemeijer and Van Heesch cannot yet say when the Revolution will start for the first time at Le Mans: “We are dependent on external factors over which we have no influence. That is why in the coming year we will focus on maturing in racing and... fine tuning of technology.”

Cables and measuring equipment
The new InMotion team will be present at the E&A fair to provide the presentation and interested parties can admire the Revolution up close with their own eyes. Van Heesch: “The tailgate is literally open, allowing visitors to view the battery pack with the various components. The Revolution is a racing car but also a research object, so you see all kinds of cables and measuring equipment in the trunk. We really measure everything you can think of to improve performance.”

Take a look under the hood
Are you also curious about the technology behind the Revolution and would you like to meet the InMotion team members? Which can! Sign up now for free for the Electronics & Applications fair, from 26 to 28 September in Jaarbeurs Utrecht, and take your chance to take a look under the hood yourself.