New electric car battery can charge in 10 minutes and keep going for 250 miles, scientists say

Electric car batteries have been developed that are capable of charging in 10 minutes and would allow a driver to travel for 250 miles.

The new lithium ion phosphate batteries, built by US scientists, can quickly heat up and cool down - which is the key to rapid charging and long life.

Scientists at Penn State University have invented a battery which matches a Porsche's performance and lasts a lifetime.

Tesla's Roadster, considered to be the gold standard of electric vehicles, can run for around 600 miles without charging but it costs more than £180,000 and usually takes hours to charge.

While electric cars are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, the fear of running out of power while travelling remains a deterrent for motorists.

There were around 164,100 pure electric cars on UK roads and over 373,600 plug-in hybrids as of September 2020.

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Professor Chao-Yang Wang, who worked on the research, said: "We developed a pretty clever battery for mass-market electric vehicles with cost parity with combustion engine vehicles.

"There is no more range anxiety and this battery is affordable."

To recharge, batteries need to heat up to around 60C (140F) and then cool down when they are not being used.

Despite their small size, the batteries produce a large amount of power in a matter of seconds and have a lifespan of 2 million miles, the researchers said.

Professor Wang said: "An electric vehicle with this battery could go from zero to 60mph in three seconds and would drive like a Porsche."

He said the discovery could make electric vehicles more affordable.

The findings were published in the journal Nature Energy.

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