StoreDot – Phones and Cars Charged in 5 Minutes?

Battery innovation may be just around the corner as StoreDot has announced new battery technology. The Israeli start-up company has been impressing investors with demonstrations of their battery technologies.

What products are StoreDot Producing?

StoreDot is looking to innovate the battery industry, with a particular emphasis on fast recharge efficiency. They are specifically targeting the high usage battery consumers such as cars, smartphones and laptop designers. Assuming that the innovation is safe and reliable, the market could be revolutionised by this. Smartphones are scheduled for the battery upgrade in 2018.

How legitimate does this technology seem?

The technology has been in development for several years. However, several high-profile investors have already placed significant amounts of money into the company. Such investors include Russian Billionaire and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich. The car of the future may be born from the Smartphone battery innovation. StoreDot recently demonstrated how their battery technology could achieve an electric car to be fully charged inside 5 minutes. The caveat to this is that they don’t expect to be at that point for at least another 3 years.

So we can expect to see this technology next year?

Maybe, but don’t be surprised if this announcement is all smoke and mirrors. Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight, has said he finds the claims to be dubious: “Taking risks with battery technology can bite you. I would say that experience has taught me to always remain sceptical. Let’s see if it happens would be my view.”

With StoreDot yet to confirm if any major manufacturers have signed up for the technology, it would appear that even the industry giants need a little more convincing. Given that India has recently expressed a wish for all vehicles to be electric, the need for a good electric car battery is growing. Whilst electric cars are impressively progressing, there are still serious limitations to their batteries. With a range of circa 300 miles and battery charge times of over 24 hours, the market is in need of an innovation to make this a viable long-term solution.

While the technology might have a way to go a fast charging battery would be a welcome addition. Particularly for fans of mobile technology who perpetually live in horror of where the next charging point might be.