Britta Reineke × Hyundai –
5 Questions about batteries and charging
4 minute read
With so many people now making their switch to electric cars, we’ve teamed up with Britta Reineke, the founder of mobility magazine ellectric to answer the 5 most frequently asked questions about EV car batteries and charging.
Britta founded her mobility magazine ellectric in 2019 to modernize and revolutionize the mobility industry through a minimal and modern visual language and create greater visibility for women.
In our previous article with Britta, we asked her why now is the perfect time to go electric and listened to her ideas about the future of mobility. But, today, we thought we’d take the opportunity to dive into the topics of how to charge an electric car, the range of electric vehicles, and get some tips from Britta about getting to grips with driving an electric car.
1. How do you charge an electric car?
The first and probably most important question for anyone considering making the switch to electric would be 'how do you charge an electric car?' The answer is quite simple. All EVs come with charging cables that can be connected to an outlet or a charger. Britta says, "the first thing you need to consider when charging your EV is where and how fast you want to charge your car. You can charge your car at a wall box, or a public charging station."
"With a wall box, you can charge your EV by using AC charge. At public stations, you also have the option to charge with AC. But DC charging is the fastest way to charge your car. At public DC charging stations, you can charge your EV with power from 50kW and above. So, within just 40 minutes you can charge your EV battery to 80%, for example."
Fact Box:
Charging the
IONIQ 5
Depending on your grid connection at home or the type of charging station you have access to, the IONIQ 5 gives you a range of charging possibilities. Not only it is equipped with an innovative 800V battery system for some of the fastest charging times possible today, but it is also compatible with 400V charging and AC charging.
The first thing you need to consider when charging your EV is where and how fast you want to charge your car. BRITTA REINEKE
2. How long does it take for an electric car to charge fully?
Britta says, "the charging speed depends on what kind of EV you have, the battery capacity, and what kind of charging system you use." This means that fully charging an electric vehicle can take from just under an hour to several hours.
"In terms of charging speed, the IONIQ 5 is a game-changer," says Britta. And she’s right, thanks to the advanced 800-volt technology, you can charge the IONIQ 5 at a fast-charging station with up to 220 kW. So, within 5 minutes you charge the amount of energy for over 100 kilometers of range, or from 10 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes.
3. How much range can you get per hour of charging?
Just as there is a range of factors that affect the fuel efficiency of an internal combustion engine (ICE), the total electric driving range will be affected by the size of the battery, your driving style, the outside temperature, any passengers you are carrying and more. That being said, modern EVs already have an average driving range of approximately 275km with many exceeding 300km.And, as battery technology improves the projected average range of electric cars is expected to reach up to 440km. You can find out more about the range of Hyundai’s electric cars here.
Fact Box:
How far can I drive with an IONIQ 5?
With its cutting-edge smart tech, the IONIQ 5 delivers a range of up to 481 km (WLTP)1 when equipped with rear-wheel drive and a long-range battery. That’s enough to get you from Frankfurt to Munich, from Seoul to Seogwipo, or from San Francisco to the Hoover Dam.
1: This is a predicted range. The official driving range of the IONIQ 5 will be announced later.
It’s almost impossible that your EV will run out of charge. BRITTA REINEKE
4. What happens if your electric car runs out of charge?
You’ll be glad to hear, that "it’s almost impossible that your EV will run out of charge as the car will give you plenty of notice about your battery status before running low," says Britta. "Your dashboard will show you the amount of charge remaining and the number of kilometers you can drive before the car stops. Many EV navigation systems will also inform you about the nearest charging stations." What’s more, "many EVs also have an inbuilt de-powering system, which means that the battery recognizes when it is running low and will decrease the car’s power and speed so you can reach the nearest charging point."
5. How long will a car battery last and what happens to end of life EV cells?
An electric car battery will last from 10-20 years before it needs to be replaced. In the future, we will reuse these batteries and give them a second life and as Britta says, "as the energy transition advances every year," and there are more electric car batteries in circulation, "electric driving will become more climate friendly."
In the future, end-of-life EV cells could support the electric grid of buildings and store energy from wind or solar electricity sources. And here at Hyundai, we have teamed up with Lithion in Canada which has developed an efficient and cost-effective process for recycling lithium-ion batteries with a process that allows for 95% of battery components to be recovered and treated, to be reused by battery manufacturers.
We hope that you feel inspired by Britta’s answers and feel ready to switch to electric. For us at Hyundai, 2021 is the year when our journey to global leadership in vehicle electrification begins. Following the launch of the IONIQ 5, we will be expanding our BEV lineup with IONIQ 6 - an electric sedan, and a new large electric IONIQ SUV. By 2025, we will have released 23 eco-friendly vehicle lines and sold more than 1 million vehicles (or the market share of 10%). We will be making efforts to electrify the European market by 2035, major markets including South Korea and China by 2040, and other markets by 2045, which will take us closer to reaching our clean mobility goals.
Got more questions about EVs? Check out our EV Literacy series on Follow Hyundai’s Instagram(@hyundai) to find out more about electric cars with Britta and ellectric.