Polestar will trial StoreDot’s ~350kW DC-capable battery on Polestar 5 prototype
Polestar will trial StoreDot’s “extreme fast charging” technology on its upcoming Polestar 5, enabling the addition of 100 miles of range in 5 minutes of charging.
We’re at Polestar Day in Santa Monica today, where the company is showcasing its future plans to media, investors and owners. For more news from the day, check out our Polestar Day News Hub.
Polestar is an investor in StoreDot, and today at Polestar Day, it has announced that it will demo StoreDot’s 100in5 battery technology in its Polestar 5, formerly known as the Precept concept, a sleek 4-door GT electric car.
StoreDot, an Israel-based company, has demonstrated battery and charging technology that it dubs “100in5,” due to its ability to add 100 miles of range in 5 minutes of charging. It also calls this “XFC” technology, short for “Extreme Fast Charging.”
It’s a clever marketing effort, aiming to make it easier for the public to understand just how fast EVs can charge when using the highest-speed chargers in the best conditions.
But for us in the EV world, it might better to translate that into the kW numbers we all know and love. Polestar and StoreDot don’t have an actual kW number, but we can come up with an estimate based on average consumption numbers.
Doing some rough math on average EV consumption (~300Wh/mi), 100 miles would mean about 30kWh of energy, which means a charge rate of around 360kW if you can get that amount of juice in 5 minutes. Round it down to 350kW since we’ve seen that number before and we’ll call it a day.
Currently, Polestar vehicles can mostly charge in the 200-250kW range, which is pretty quick. Most EVs coming out these days can charge somewhere in the 150-180kW range (with some slower ones out there, like our much-loved Chevy Bolt still at 50kW), and the better performers are in the 200s or even into the 300s.
But 350kW on the car end of things only works if the network also supports speeds that fast. Currently, Tesla’s superchargers cap out at 250kW, but the upcoming V4 superchargers will be capable of 350kW, and Electrify America has “hyper-fast” 350kW chargers in many locations.
Even at current charge rates of 250kW and below, the best electric cars available today are already fantastic for roadtrips – assuming they’re paired with a well-functioning fast charging network. On that front, Polestar did recently commit to joining the NACS standard, opening up access to Tesla’s Supercharger network.
350kW would be about the fastest-charging car available if it was out today, but Polestar 5 will only trial this technology for now, and it won’t be in production in a few years.
Just a few days ago, Polestar announced that it will use Korean battery supplier SK On for production-spec Polestar 5 batteries when the vehicle starts production in 2025, and we don’t know what charge rates that car will be capable of. It plans to bring the StoreDot XFC batteries into production-spec Polestar 5s in 2027.
At that point, though, StoreDot says its future “100in3” solid state batteries will almost be available (that translates to around 600kW, for reference). Those are supposed to hit production in 2028 – so it’s perhaps a little strange that Polestar would start using the 100in5 models in 2027, 3 years after they’re supposed to become available, and 1 year before the better model shows up.
That said, solid state batteries have been “just around the corner” for longer than I’ve been following EVs (and that’s a long time), so we wouldn’t be surprised to see that timeline get pushed back a little.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
BYD’s new EV is about the size of a Tesla Model 3, but half the cost in China. After launching the e7, BYD is already boasting that it will be the “winner’s choice” for midsize EV sedans. Here’s our first look at the new low-cost electric sedan.
Will the new BYD e7 EV rival the Tesla Model 3 in China?
After previewing the e7 for the first time a little over a month ago, BYD officially launched the midsize electric sedan on Saturday.
The new e7 is available in three “Smart” trims, starting at 103,800 yuan, or about $14,500. For a limited time, BYD is offering a renewal price of 99,800 yuan ($13,900).
Buyers can choose from two BYD Blade battery options: 48 or 57.8 kWh, providing CLTC driving ranges of 450 and 520 km, respectively.
BYD’s new midsize EV sedan is about the size of a Tesla Model 3: 4,780 mm long, 1,900 mm wide, 1,515 mm tall, and 2,820 mm wheelbase.
Although it looks similar to other BYD models, the e7 has a few unique design elements, including a “Smiling and high-spirited” front face design, full-score LED headlights, and a duck tail.
We knew it would be a lower-priced EV after the preview showed the e7 with traditional door handles, rather than the flush ones found on newer models.
Like BYD’s other new vehicles, the interior is relatively simple with a 15.6″ central infotainment at the center and a 5″ driver display cluster. It’s also loaded with the advanced version of BYD’s smart cockpit and DiLink100.
The “ingeniously crafted comfortable cockpit,” as BYD calls it, is available with ergonomic cloud-sensing seats, an integrated hand gear, and a panoramic sunroof.
Although the e7 is part of BYD’s e-series, a lower-priced lineup aimed at younger drivers or taxi services, it’s now being absorbed into its Ocean series with other popular EVs like the Dolphin and Seagull.
BYD’s new EV is over half the cost of a base Tesla Model 3 RWD model in China, which starts at 235,500 yuan ($32,700). But, to be fair, the base Model 3 has a CLTC driving range of up to 634 km (394 miles). For 275,500 yuan ($38,200), the Model 3 Long Range AWD is rated with up to 713 km (443 miles) CLTC range.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Hyundai is gaining traction where most automakers are struggling to stay afloat. Despite a flood of low-cost electric cars and an intensifying price war, Hyundai sees an opportunity “to write a new chapter” with its first dedicated EV rolling out in China.
Will Hyundai’s new EV spark a comeback in China?
Leading up to its debut, we thought it could be the IONIQ 4 with a sleek new look. The ELEXIO is Hyundai’s first custom-tailored EV for China.
During its global debut earlier this month in Shanghai, Hyundai said China is a “must-fight place,” calling it “the core of Hyundai Motor’s global strategy.” The company also revealed its “In China, for China, to the World” strategy as it looks to make a comeback in the world’s largest EV market.
According to Hyundai, the company is already seeing early success. On Monday, Hyundai’s joint venture in China, Beijing Hyundai, announced that its losses improved by over 100 billion won ($72 million) in the first quarter.
The company posted a net loss of 42.3 billion won in the first three months of 2025, down from the massive 146 billion won ($105 million) in Q1 2024. At this pace, Hyundai could see a profit by the second quarter in China.
Hyundai said lower operating costs spurred the cost improvements after the company sold its Chongqing plant last year.
It’s also due to rising exports. Beijing Hyundai exported 14,999 vehicles in Q1, up significantly from just 608 a year ago. Hyundai’s Chinese JV is investing 8 billion yuan ( $1.1 billion) as it looks to revamp the business.
Although it’s already seeing some success, Hyundai’s new ELEXIO electric SUV is expected to accelerate its momentum. With the EV launching in the second half of 2025, Hyundai could turn a profit by the end of the year. It may even happen as early as the second quarter.
Hyundai claims the new EV opens “a new starting point for the transformation from traditional fuel vehicle giant to electrification” in China.
The ELEXIO electric SUV, dubbed the Chinese version of its popular IONIQ 5, rocks a new look with crystal cube LED headlights and a full-length light bar that stretches across the front.
Based on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform, which powers the IONIQ 5, the ELEXIO is rated with up to 435 miles (700 km) CLTC driving range. More details, including prices and trim options, will be revealed closer to launch. Check back soon for the latest.
What do you think of Hyundai’s new electric SUV? Would you buy the ELEXIO in Europe, the US, or other global markets? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Newsis, Beijing Hyundai
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Tesla announced it paid Powerwall owners $9.9 million through its virtual power plant programs in 2024.
Distributed energy is working.
A virtual power plant (VPP) consists of distributed energy storage systems, like Tesla Powerwalls, used in concert to provide grid services and avoid the use of polluting and expensive peaker power plants.
Peaker plants are fossil fuel-powered power plants that are activated in peak energy usage times to ensure the grid has enough power to supply the demand and avoid brownouts.
It is a fairly new technology that aims to decentralize the grid, helping make it more secure and stable while reducing costs.
Tesla has been an early adopter of the technology through the deployment of its Powerwall, a popular home battery pack.
In areas with high penetration of the home battery, Tesla can make a deal with the local electric utility to pull power from the Powerwalls in customer homes when needed, and those homeowners get compensated at an attractive rate.
Today, Tesla announced that it paid Powerwall owners nearly $10 million through VPPs in 2024:
We paid out $9.9M to Powerwall owners who supported the grid through Virtual Power Plant participation in 2024.
Tesla’s first VPP launched in Australia in 2019. The company first aimed for 50,000 homes, but we learned that it is at about 7,000 homes and 35 MW as of the end of last year when Tesla was looking to sell the virtual power plant.
In 2021, Tesla launched a VPP pilot program in California, in which Powerwall owners would voluntarily and without compensation let the VPP pull power from their battery packs when the grid needed it.
It helped Tesla prove the usefulness of such a system.
Following the pilot program, Tesla and PG&E, the electric utility covering Northern California, launched the first official virtual power plant through the Tesla app.
This new version of the Tesla Virtual Power Plant actually compensates Powerwall owners $2 per kWh that they contribute to the grid during emergency load reduction events. Homeowners are expected to get between $10 and $60 per event.
Later, we reported that Tesla’s California VPP expanded to Southern California Edison (SCE) to now cover most of the state.
Last year, Tesla’s California VPPs reached over 100 MW in capacity, and the company also started building significant VPPs in Texas.
Some Powerwall owners are now reporting making hundreds of dollars per year per Powerwall through Tesla’s virtual power plant.
Electrek’s Take
This is awesome. I love distributed energy. VPPs not only make home energy storage more financially viable, but they also often mean that fossil fuel-powered peaker plants are being replaced by solar power and energy storage, as most Powerwalls and other home battery packs are linked to home solar power.
It’s not super popular yet because it requires the cooperation of the electric utilities and the regulators, but it appears to be viable in most places.
If you have home solar and energy storage, or looking to add solar and energy storage at home, it’s worth looking into.
It’s time to go solar in the US before the GOP kills the incentives. You want to make sure you’re finding a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage. EnergySage is a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar – whether you’re a homeowner or renter. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20 to 30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online, including with Tesla hardware, like the Powerwall, and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway