Battery breakthrough lets EVs drive much farther than before
Battery breakthrough lets EVs drive much farther than before
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24 September 2025
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Scientists in South Korea say they have created EV battery that can travel 500 miles on just a 12-minute charge
New technology overcomes problem of battery erosion
Innovation could go a long way to solving ‘range anxiety’
Dr. Hyeokjin Kwon, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Professor Hee Tak Kim, and Professor Seong Su Kim, Mechanical Engineering. Credit: KAIST
Scientists from the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have unveiled a new lithium-ion electric-vehicle (EV) battery that lets drivers travel for 500 miles on a single, 12-minute charge.
In a breakthrough that could go some way to solving the issue of ‘range anxiety’, the worry that an EV will not have enough power to complete its journey, the new battery extends the previous maximum range of a lithium-ion battery by 128 miles.
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Before now, scientists have been unable to achieve this due to ‘dendrites’ – a branching, crystalline substance that grows on the anode during charging, which erodes performance over time, especially during fast charging.
Credit: KAIST
However, KAIST now says it has found a way to suspend dendrite growth, thanks to a new ‘cohesion-inhibiting’ liquid electrolyte. The liquid slows down dendrite growth, boosting the batteries’ rapid-charging capabilities. It also extends the lifespan to more than 185,000 miles.
This technology, KAIST says, overcomes slow charging speed and maintains “high energy density”, which enables a long driving range and stable operation even with fast charging.
On top of that, KAIST said that the underlying cause of dendrite formation was the “non-uniform interfacial cohesion on the surface of the lithium metal”. This meant the lithium ions were deposited evenly across the anode during charging, creating weak points.
The liquid electrolyte is chemically structured to help ensure ions are deposited more evenly and in lab tests, the battery charges from 5% to 70% in 12 minutes, with the speed maintained for more than 350 cycles. A higher-capacity version reached 80% in 17 minutes.
Hee Tak Kim, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, KAIST, described the research as “a key foundation” for “overcoming the technical challenges of lithium-metal batteries”, claiming it has helped overcome the “the biggest barrier to the introduction of lithium-metal batteries for EVs”.
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Tamara BirchNewsletters and sponsored content editor
Tamara is a journalist with more than six years experience writing about environmental topics. This includes advising small businesses on cost-effective ways tom become more sustainable, from installing to solar panels and heat pumps and reducing waste. She has used her journalist and research skills to become highly knowledgeable on sustainable initiatives, issues, and solutions to help consumers do their bit for the environment – all while reducing monthly costs. Now, she’s using this experience to advise homeowners on the benefits of installing low-carbon technologies. She is also qualified in offering innovative initiatives to improve sustainability practices in businesses, from advertising to marketing and publishing.
Her passion for sustainability and eco-friendly solutions stems from a long obsession with nature and animals and ensuring they feel looked after. In her free time, Tamara enjoys reading fantasy novels, visiting the gym, and going on long walks in new areas.
Max joined The Eco Experts as content manager in February 2024 and became deputy editor in 2025. He has written about sustainability issues across numerous industries, including maritime, supply chain, finance, mining, and retail. He has also written extensively for consumer titles like City AM, The Morning Star, and The Daily Express.
In 2020, he covered in detail the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) legislation on sulphur emissions and its effects on the global container shipping market as online editor of Port Technology International.
He also explored the initiatives major container ports and terminals have launched in order to ship vital goods across the world without polluting the environment.
Since then, he has reported heavily on the impact made by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices on the supply chain of minerals, with a particular focus on rare earth mining in Africa.
As part of this, in 2022 Max visited mines and ports in Angola to hone in on the challenges being faced by one of the world’s biggest producers of rare earth minerals.
His most recent sustainability-related work came much closer to home, as he investigated the eco-challenges faced by independent retailers in the UK, specifically looking at how they can cut emissions and continue to thrive.
Max lives in South London and is an avid reader of books on modern history and ghost stories. He has also recently learned to play the game Mahjong and takes every opportunity to do so. He is also yet to find a sport he doesn’t enjoy watching.
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