Volvo Electric Cars to Reduce EV Charging Time By Up to 30 Percent

In March 2024, Volvo announced a significant development for global electric vehicle (EV) charging. Volvo partnered with Breathe Battery Technologies (“Breathe”), to reduce EV charging time by an impressive amount. Breathe said that its innovative charging technology will result in varying charging time improvements ranging from 15-30% for different EV battery packs used in Volvo electric cars.

Since 2019, London, UK-based Breathe’s focus has been on building battery technology to contribute to a faster, better and more sustainable electrification around the world. Breathe provides physics-based battery management software that helps electric vehicle and consumer electronics brands optimize battery performance and charging. The company has two embedded software products, Breathe Charge and Breathe Life. These use adaptive charging to dynamically adjust the ideal charging current across both the state of charge and state health windows in the battery.

Breathe Charge and Breathe Life extract more performance from existing batteries to deliver faster charging and greater cycle life, with a zero compromise on safety. With the health-adaptive nature of this technology, the charging time improvements are maintained across the full battery life cycle, without impacting EV battery health or longevity.

The investment in Breathe by Volvo Cars Tech Fund marks a significant move. The fund was created to accelerate the transformation of the global mobility industry, including the fast-moving global shift to transportation electrification.

Volvo will implement Breathe Charge adaptive EV charging software in its new generation of Volvo EVs. This will create a significant advantage for Volvo over competitors, offering a shorter charge time for Volvo battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and Plug-In hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The announcement stated that Breathe’s technology may be available on new, next-generation Volvo EVs within the next three years. This is significant EV charging news for the EV industry.

EV charging time has been a problem for American drivers from the beginning of the American EV revolution. Drivers in the U.S. are accustomed to filling up at gas stations in five minutes or less. When this technology is released, it will significantly reduce this barrier, driving EV adoption forward at an even faster pace than it is enjoying today. Volvo and Breathe are to be commended for their innovation.

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