SHELL’S NEW EV FLUID COULD PAVE THE WAY FOR SUB-10 MINUTE CHARGING SPEEDS
Shell EV-Plus Thermal Fluid is a new immersion cooling technology that enables electric vehicle batteries to charge from 10% to 80% in under ten minutes, a breakthrough that could reshape the conversation around range anxiety and public charging infrastructure. Developed in partnership with the UK engineering firm RML Group, the fluid uses Shell's proprietary Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) chemistry to transfer heat away from battery cells at a rate that allows extremely high charging currents without damaging cells or shortening battery lifespan. At a demonstrated rate of 24 km of range added per minute of charging, the system delivers approximately five times more efficiency than typical battery electric vehicle setups on today's networks.
What Is Immersion Cooling and Why Does It Matter for Fast Charging?
Conventional EV battery cooling uses liquid channels or air systems that run alongside cells but never make direct contact with them. Shell EV-Plus takes a different approach: the electrically non-conductive fluid fills every gap between individual cells within the battery pack, creating maximum surface contact for heat transfer. This single-phase immersion cooling eliminates the hot spots that build up during rapid charging, which are the primary cause of cell degradation and fires in conventional packs. Uniform temperature control across the entire pack also means automakers can design smaller, lighter battery systems with improved energy density, reducing material costs without sacrificing range or safety.
How the Shell and RML Group Collaboration Works
RML Group, the UK firm behind the Pod Point charging infrastructure and several motorsport engineering projects, built a 34 kWh battery pack to demonstrate the technology. The pack uses standard 175 kW public chargers, which are already widely deployed across major markets, meaning the charging speed improvement requires no special ultra-high-power infrastructure. This is a significant practical advantage: the bottleneck has been the battery's ability to absorb power, not the charger's ability to deliver it. Shell's fluid removes that bottleneck at the cell level.
EV Market Context: Why Speed Matters Now
Global EV sales grew 14% in 2024 compared to 2023, yet surveys consistently show that charging time is among the top three reasons non-EV drivers hesitate to switch. According to Shell's own research, 44% of non-EV drivers cite charging speed as a significant barrier. A sub-10-minute charge eliminates the last meaningful time disadvantage EVs have against combustion-engine refueling. Shell debuted the technology at The Battery Show North America, positioning EV-Plus as a solution for both passenger car manufacturers and commercial fleet operators, where vehicle downtime directly affects profitability. For the full technical detail, see the Shell thermal management page and the independent analysis at Electrive.
Photo: Shell
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