Charging an EV in just 5 minutes? Well, it's possible in theory

Well, this could be a game-changer (how many times have I written those words!)

Purdue University and Ford have enveloped a charging cable that can, at least theoretically, charge an electric vehicle in just five minutes. That's right, basically the same time as it takes to fill an ICE car with gas.

The main limiting factor on the speed of charging is heat: the charging cable just gets too hot for safety. The Purdue/Ford solution uses liquid phase-change cooling to up the ante, a coolant that starts off as a liquid and changes into a vapour as it absorbs heat, which can remove ten times more heat than liquid cooling alone. That allow for output of up to 2,400 amps, nearly five times more than current industry leader Tesla's chargers.

Of course, this type of cable has not been used in practice yet, and current EVs are not even able to receive that level of power. Plus, rolling out a network of such chargers will be a mammoth and extremely expensive task.

So, it's all pretty theoretical. But ... cool theory.