Interesting news article:

23 Mar 2011: New Lithium-Ion Battery Offers Quicker Charging Times, Study Says

U.S. researchers say they have developed a technology that could dramatically reduce the time it takes to recharge lithium-ion batteries used in cellphones, laptop computers, and electric vehicles (EVs). Unlike conventional lithium-ion rechargeable batteries — in which active material is placed on a thin film that has limited storage capacity and thus degrades quickly — researchers at the University of Illinois say they have created a 3-D nanostructure that enable batteries to charge at a much faster rate. The tiny metal structure, which ultimately is coated with the thin film, is not immune to degradation, but the degradation is much slower because the new battery is 10 times more efficient than conventional batteries, according to the group’s study, which was published in the journal Nature Nantotechnology. While it now can take several hours to charge an EV at a home charging station, researchers hope the technology will one day enable drivers to recharge a car battery in the time it takes to fill a tank of gasoline. Recharging a cellphone could eventually take less than a minute, the researchers predicted.

http://e360.yale.edu/digest/new_lithium-ion_battery_offers_quicker_charging_times_research ers_say/2865/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaig n=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+3 60%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

The very obvious question here is where do you get the charger which will deliver about 25Kwh in the time it takes to fill a petrol tank; say 3 minutes.
Assuming 100% efficiency charging (unlikely), the charger would need to deliver 500Kw, or a mere half a Megawatt. lets say 5000 Amps at 100V!
I guess the connectors could also be a bit of a problem.

Wayne

You can also read about the new technology here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar..._TECH_20110322

Digest:
"Other thin films are degrading fast, ours isn't.
Our thin film is better than other thin films.
Our group hasn't conducted studies to verify this yet."

Originally Posted by Wayne Giles

The very obvious question here is where do you get the charger which will deliver about 25Kwh in the time it takes to fill a petrol tank; say 3 minutes.
Assuming 100% efficiency charging (unlikely), the charger would need to deliver 500Kw, or a mere half a Megawatt. lets say 5000 Amps at 100V!
I guess the connectors could also be a bit of a problem.

Wayne

what sort of cable thickness for 5000amps 100v

I found more on this.

Rick