Lucid Motors announced that its upcoming (2021) all-electric sedan, the Lucid Air, will be the “fastest charging electric vehicle ever offered”. The company claims the Air will have the ability to charge at rates of up to 20 miles per minute which translates to 300 miles in about 20 minutes. This charging time can be made possible by using a 900-volt charger with a peak charging rate of over 300 kW. By comparison, Tesla Model 3 can pump out 250 kW, which converts to 15 miles per minute of charge.
300 Miles In 20 Minutes, Lucid Air Will Be Fastest Charging EV
Previous news of Lucid’s announcement last week that the Air will have a record-shattering range of 517 miles – a 28% improvement over the current longest-range EV, the Tesla Model S Long Range Plus.
Lucid is teaming up with Electrify America
Lucid is teaming up with Electrify America, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, to build a network of fast chargers like this. Unless Electrify America is also planning on a rollout of battery storage or fast-start peaker plants, it will be difficult for them to be able to support a large number of chargers potentially pulling 300kW simultaneously in a small geographic area.
The Lucid Air will be a record-shattering EV as far as charging abilities and will include:
- DC quick energizing at to 20 miles for each moment, with a pinnacle charging pace of over 300kW.
- Ultra-high voltage 900V+ electrical design.
- 19.2kW AC locally available charger that can bolster AC energizing paces to 80 miles for every hour.
- Coordinated lift charging and the broadest scope of charging similarity from AC Levels 1 and 2, up to the most remarkable Level 3 DC quick charging, using the widespread CCS connector standard for availability to, and quick charging at, any open charging system.
- Full bi-directionality for cutting edge Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) abilities worked in for future enablement of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) highlights.
Future Highlights
The production version of the Lucid Air will be revealed online on September 9, 2020. In addition to the vehicle’s final interior and exterior designs, new details about production specifications, available configurations, and pricing information will also be shared along. The Air will be capable of over 500 miles of range and 0-60 mph in under 2.5 seconds. Customer deliveries of the Lucid Air, which will be produced at Lucid’s new factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, will begin in early 2021.
Can Lucid Compete With Tesla?
Tesla has more than 12,000 Superchargers across North America, Europe, and Asia and our network continues to grow daily: more than 99% of the U.S. population is covered by the network. V3 is a completely new architecture for Supercharging. A new 1MW power cabinet with a similar design to our utility-scale products supports peak rates of up to 250kW per car. At this rate, a Model 3 Long Range operating at peak efficiency can recover up to 75 miles of charge in 5 minutes and charge at rates of up to 1,000 miles per hour. Combined with other improvements we’re announcing today, V3 Supercharging will ultimately cut the amount of time customers spend charging by an average of 50%, as modeled on our fleet data.
While on the other hand, Lucid has partnered with Electrify America. Lucid is developing static Energy Storage Systems (ESS) using its in-house battery, power electrics, and its renowned Battery Management System (BMS) software technology to develop the building blocks of advanced energy storage. It’s a way for Lucid to create a sustainable lifecycle for re-purposing Lucid Air batteries, as well as contributing to a world.
Getting that charge rate will require a 350-kW CCS DC fast-charger, of the sort that remains relatively rare in the U.S. According to Chargeway, a software platform and app aiming to make it easier to charge, there are currently 593 active 350-kW fast-charging connectors in the U.S. Those are mostly part of the Electrify America network, but EVgo has one up and Greenlots will soon add 30. This charging time can be made possible by using a 900-volt charger with a peak charging rate of over 300 kW. By comparison, Tesla’s V3 can pump out 250 kW, which converts to 15 miles per minute of charge. The Air will have a record-shattering range of 517 miles – a 28% improvement over the current longest-range EV, the Tesla Model S Long Range Plus
Lucid credits a number of factors for the charge rate. Its 900+ volt electrical architecture reduces thermal losses, as well as its sophisticated thermal management system and custom lithium-ion cells coming from LG Chem for most models. Where we think Lucid is taking a risk is how they are going to provide this convenient fast charging. They partnered with Electrify America. Electrify America has made great progress on its charging network, but it’s always a risk to rely on a third-party to provide such an important part of your user experience. Overall, we are fairly optimistic about Lucid’s prospects.
As a Tesla model S 100D owner, I am looking forward to experiencing and possibly purchasing a Lucid Air. I travel cross country almost annually and want a luxury automobile with exceptional range.