EVs search for the 5-min charge

A time traveler visiting from the 1960s might be somewhat disappointed by the state of technological progress in 2025. There are no flying cars, no space hotels, no robot butlers. But even though they can’t fly, cars are going through a major transformation from loud, jerky, smelly gas guzzlers to sleek electric vehicles (EVs) that quietly hum along roads. Nearly one in five new cars sold in 2023 were electric or plug-in hybrids, according to an International Energy Agency report. The thing holding back EV adoption right now—besides the relatively high sticker price—is how long it takes to charge the battery, according to industry analyst Sam Adham of the research firm CRU Group.EVs charge slowly. For some owners, the only practical way to charge is being parked for hours— say, overnight or while they’re at work. That’s very different from the gas and diesel vehicles people are used to, which can be refueled in 5 min or so. The fastest chargers can add enough juice in 15 or 20 min to get someone to their next stop, but that’s not the same as filling up the tank.For someone living in an apartment building or a dense city neighborhood, without a place they can charge overnight, owning an EV might not be practical if they can’t charge it quickly. Likewise, a delivery company might not be able to justify a fleet of electric vans that have to charge for hours when they could be moving products. It didn’t used to be this