Scientists and engineers are making good progress in the search for quick-charging batteries for electric vehicles.

Some of the exciting news comes from close to home.

A team of mechanical engineers from Penn State, working with EC Power, a State College-based battery technology company, recently announced a breakthrough that brings down to 10 minutes the time required to charge a typical EV battery.

They report their findings in an article in the journal Nature.

The title of their article is “Fast Charging of Energy-Dense Lithium-ion Batteries.”

This is important because EV batteries currently are heavy and can take a long time to recharge.

A fast-charging battery offers the potential for smaller, lighter batteries in cars and trucks.

“Fast charging times combined with decent range can transform the economics and environmental footprint of the EV industry for the better,” affirms Jonathan Marshall, a research coordinator with Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

“By making EV charging faster than a normal gas station stop, many EV customers will settle for more modest range, knowing that even 200-300 miles will service 95+ percent of their driving needs,” he notes in a blog post.

“Their eased anxiety will translate into smaller batteries, less need for exotic rare earth and conflict minerals, and lighter vehicles and lower sticker prices.”

Penn State researchers have found a way to use an ultrathin nickel foil in a battery to, among other things, regulate temperature.

Regulated temperature is a key element in allowing for quick recharging.

“Batteries operate most efficiently when they are hot but not too hot,” explains a Penn State news release. “Keeping batteries consistently at just the right temperature has been a major challenge for battery engineers.”

Other researchers are also making progress on the battery problem.

Just two days after the Penn State team published its findings, a group of Korean engineers announced development of a new positive cathode that can fully charge a lithium battery in 12 minutes with little loss of operating life.

Back in April, according to Marshall’s blog post, Chinese researchers published about a battery design that can charge an EV battery up to 80% in 12 minutes.

And a California startup, Enovix, announced in June that its EV battery cells could charge to 80% in five minutes and just under 98% in 10 minutes.

It’s a big step from published research to manufacturing, but it’s clear that quicker-charging batteries for electric vehicles are on the way.

When they arrive, it will be an enormous positive push toward electrifying transportation and breaking the malign hold of oil on the world’s economies and geopolitical future.

Richard W. Jones is a member of the State College chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. He can be reached at richard@rwjonesagency.com