NASA suggests new space cooling technology could charge electric cars in 5 minutes

NASA has suggested that an experimental cooling system it funds may eventually allow electric vehicle users to charge their cars within five minutes.

The agency said a team led by a Purdue University professor developed a “sub-flow boiling” technique for the experiment, with the hope that it could control the temperatures of future systems in space.

“A team sponsored by NASA’s Department of Biological and Physical Sciences is developing a new technology that will not only achieve large-scale improvements in heat transfer to enable these systems to maintain appropriate temperatures in space, but will also enable significant reductions in the size and weight of the device,” NASA He said in a blog post last week.

“Moreover, this same technology may make owning an electric car here on Earth easier and more feasible,” the post continued.

NASA indicated that achieving such a feat of charging electric cars in five minutes would require chargers to provide current at 1,400 amperes, far above the technology currently available.

The publication noted that most chargers currently available support currents of less than 150 amps, while some of the more advanced chargers on the market provide currents of up to 520 amps.

But NASA said the Purdue University development cable could provide currents of up to 2,400 amperes by removing heat through the new technology, which will provide charging 4.6 times the fastest charger currently available.

“The application of this new technology has resulted in an unprecedented reduction in the time required to charge a vehicle and may remove one of the major barriers to worldwide adoption of electric vehicles,” NASA wrote.

President Biden has emphasized the switch to electric cars as an important component of his climate initiatives, but the proposals have been met with criticism among some in the Republican Party, who have The plans were portrayed as elitist and a boon to the wealthy.

Questions have also been raised about whether the US electric grid can even handle a severe shift toward electric cars.

The Inflation Reduction Act, a partisan written settlement package passed over the summer, includes billions of dollars in funding for electric vehicle tax credits and other financial incentives.

It also includes a $7.5 billion investment to build a network of charging stations across the United States

“The Great American Road Trip Will Be All Electrified,” Biden He said in Detroit last month. “Whether you’re driving from coast to coast along I-10 or on I-75 here in Michigan, charging stations will be ready and as easy to find as gas stations now.”