Shell have unveiled an all-electric concept car to inspire the next generation of European-made mass-market EVs by focusing on lighter weights and better charging technology.
Known as the “Triple 10 Challenge Car,” its design is centered around a simplified, single-circuit cooling architecture to efficiently manage the thermal load of charging, even with the 175 kilowatt-hour fast chargers installed on the continent today.
Triple 10 refers to a car with a charge time of 10 minutes or less, that drives with a 10 kilometer (6 miles) per kilowatt-hour efficiency, and which generates 10 tons of CO2 across its whole lifecycle.
Ask any motor head (or petrol head, if you’re in the UK) how many concept cars they’ve seen make it no further than a prototype, and you’d do well to find a seat as you listen to all the examples they’re likely to list.
Shell make no bones about the Triple 10 car, which has no estimated list price, being a “proof-of-concept vehicle designed to inspire a new design philosophy for the next generation of battery electric vehicles,” but the accomplishments and technology they were able to pack into a compact-size vehicle are nevertheless impressive.
Europe is facing an unprecedented challenge to its automotive industry as the EVs the continent’s governments have long incentivized and championed—to the point of banning internal combustion engines at future dates—are suddenly coming not from northern Italy or southern Germany, but from China.
With price inflation in the Eurozone for automobiles rising between 20% and 25% between 2020 and 2025, the advent of a sub-20 grand electric vehicle has been a welcome relief for European consumers, who are choosing models like Leapmotor, BYD, and Geely at higher and higher rates than comparable models made by continental badges Volkswagen or Renault.
Shell’s Triple 10 concept closely models these Chinese brands that are rapidly gaining in popularity among the bloc, namely something well-made and compact that charges quickly, in contrast to “the current reliance on ever-larger batteries.”
“With the Triple 10 Challenge concept car, we have unlocked the potential for faster charging, lighter systems and improved lifecycle efficiency by using our advanced thermal fluids,” said Cara Tredget, VP for Mobility & Lubricants Technology at Shell.
“Together with our co-engineering partners, we are proud to develop alternative options for sustainable EV development leveraging technologies that are available today and are scalable to support customers into the future.”
Shell’s concept has been designed to achieve 10 km/kWh in driving economy with a smaller, more efficient battery system, adding over 30% improvement in overall energy efficiency compared to many current-generation EVs.
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For example, the extended range model of one of the best-selling Chinese EVs in Europe, the BYD Dolphin, comes with a 43 kilowatt battery pack giving it just over 300 kilometers of range, or an efficiency of around 13.3 km/kWh.
The Triple 10 vehicle is also able to charge the battery from 10% to 80% in 9 minutes 54 seconds, without compromise to thermal stability or lifespan. While some EVs in the market today can charge in under 10 minutes, this requires using an ultra-fast charger in excess of 300kW, which is uncommon on the public charging network.
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Triple 10 Challenge vehicle is able to attain this on the existing charging network infrastructure using a standard 175kW charger, adding an equivalent to almost 90% more range added per minute of charge.
The key to these performance metrics is Shell Recharge thermal fluid. Unlike traditional cooling systems that use water-glycol, Shell’s dielectric fluid allows for direct immersion cooling of the battery and indirect cooling of the powertrain components including the motor and power electronics.
WATCH the car in action below…
SHARE These Impressive Performance And Charging Metrics With You Friends Who Own An EV…