- Volvo will improve the EX90’s battery pack.
- In a coming mannequin refresh, the 400V battery can be changed by an 800V pack.
- This could allow shorter charging stops at DC quick chargers.
Regardless of its flagship standing in Volvo’s lineup of electrical fashions, the EX90 SUV’s high-voltage battery pack shouldn’t be what I’d name top-tier. That’s as a result of it’s rated at roughly 400 volts, which is okay for many functions, however for a flagship product, it’s behind rivals such because the Kia EV9, Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Lucid Gravity, all of which run at 800V or greater.
Even the Volvo ES90, the not too long ago revealed electrical sedan that rides on the identical SPA2 structure because the EX90, will characteristic an 800V battery pack. So one thing has to present.
The largest good thing about an 800V system over a 400V one is its capacity to cost at sooner speeds. You don’t get extra vary, however as a result of the variety of kilowatts disbursed by a DC quick charger is an easy volts-times-amps math downside, the upper the volts and amps, the upper the kilowatt enter.
Volvo is aware of this, so it is going to improve the EX90’s battery pack to an 800V setup sooner relatively than later. Talking with AutoExpress, Volvo Vehicles CEO Jim Rowan mentioned: “We began off with 400 volts on the SPA2 structure, after which we needed to improve that–partly due to vary and sooner charging speeds; now we will put about 300 kilometers (186 miles) of vary on in 10 minutes.”
“As we go ahead, we’ll transfer every thing to 800 volts–we’ll improve the EX90 in one of many model-year adjustments,” Rowan added. “And naturally, the ES90 begins at 800 [volts], and the EX60 on SPA3 will come out on 800 [volts] as effectively. That helps us standardize throughout the platform.”
Keep in mind that the EX90 is simply hitting dealerships internationally, so the battery change is prone to occur someday within the subsequent three to 4 years when the EV is ready for a mid-cycle refresh.
At the moment, the 400V EX90 can cost at as much as 250 kW from a DC quick charger, resulting in a 10-80% top-up in as little as half-hour. Switching to 800V might slash the charging time by as a lot as ten minutes when linked to a 350 kW quick charger–a 50% enchancment.
All this being mentioned, it’s unclear if Volvo will use the ES90’s 106-kilowatt-hour battery pack within the EX90 when the time comes. At the moment, the electrical SUV has a 111 kWh pack, however it makes use of the identical structure because the sedan, albeit with a barely shorter wheelbase. If Volvo goes down this route–of reusing the ES90’s battery within the EX90–the driving expertise ought to stay largely unchanged. A distinction of 5 kWh in capability might cut back the general vary by just a few miles from the present EPA score of 310 miles, however due to sooner charging occasions, it needs to be a non-issue in the long term.
