Audi details e-tron charging capabilities

AUDI AG has used the first of its Audi Tech Talks to detail and explain the charging capacity and capabilities of its looming e-tron all-electric SUV ahead of its Australian arrival in September.

Specifically referring to the higher-tier 55 variant – as opposed to the more affordable and less powerful 50 variant – Audi says the highlights of the e-tron’s charging system are its “meaningful” charging speed and the almost flat charging curve.

According to engineers, the e-tron can be charged from five per cent to 80 per cent charge in just 30 minutes when using a fast charging station and up to 100 per cent when left plugged in for 45 minutes.

Just 10 minutes on a fast charger will result in 110km of range.

The secret to this rapid charging is the e-tron’s ability to be charged with up to 150kW of direct current for longer than other EVs thanks to “elaborate thermal management” of the 95kWh battery pack.

Audi development of charging time and charging efficient specialist Silvia Gramlich likened the charging curves of other EVs to Sugar Loaf Mountain in their rapid initial charging but quick drop off while the e-tron’s charging curve resembled Cape Town’s Table Mountain in its flatter shape.

“Customers should not just be interested in the maximum value of charging power, but rather how it progresses and may have to be reduced during a charging process, because otherwise the batteries – for physical reasons –heat up,” she said.

“The crucial question for customers is: how many kilowatt hours can I recharge in what period of time?”

Ms Gramlich went onto clarify that thanks to a three-phase 11kW on-board charger, the e-tron 55 can be fully charged at home “in just under nine hours”.

To keep the battery pack cool during charging and thereby allow the rapid charging capabilities, 22 litres of coolant is pumped around the system via 40m worth of cooling lines when being charged at 150kW, working to keep the battery in its optimum temperature range of between 25 and 35 degrees.

The cooling system itself is connected to the underside of the battery pack using a thermally conductive adhesive (glue) which adds an extra element of thermal dissipation on top of the cooling effect of the coolant.

When all said and done, the e-tron 55 boasts an effective range of up to 446km with its battery pack producing an even 300kW of power and hefty 664Nm of torque.

The lower spec e-tron 50 meanwhile is fitted with a 71kWh lithium-ion battery, good for 230kW/540Nm with a claimed range of 300km.

Early next year Audi will launch a smaller ‘Q4 e-tron’ which is set to produce some 225kW of power and boast a claimed range of up to 450km thanks to an 82kWh battery.