Unpopular opinion, but I truly feel battery powered cars are a dead end. Gas won out over earlier models because of its unique properties, most of which is its easy availability and high energy density. Batteries are heavy, and range limited. A true successor to the ICE must offer the same freedoms afforded. Whether it's super fast charging, nuclear, or a greener fuel, though, I'm not sure.
The 2019 Tesla model S has a range of 370 miles, and I assume that as time passes, more EVs will have a range approaching that figure.
That range is considerably longer than the range of my bladder, so once charging increases in speed, this "problem" simply vanishes. We're already on our way there, the first 250kW charger opened this week, and will add 180 miles of range in 15 minutes.
In fact, it's better than an ICE car, because I can charge at home, and start every single journey with 100% charge.
How long does it take to charge? Granted 350 miles is a long trip, but some 9f us drive from Seattle to San Francisco and we can't do that in 350 burst waiting overnight for the car to charge.
Personally I think a hybrid that plugs into 120, with a commuting range 50 miles and a back up gas engine will be the sweet spot
Lithium-ion batteries can be fully charged safely in about an hour, give or take, regardless of their capacity. 80% charge is about half that, IIRC.
The reason it takes a while to recharge EVs is because of the enormous size of their batteries. Tesla Superchargers inject more power into the car than what comes into a regular home.
Quick math: A 100KWh is going to take a bit more than 100KW of power to charge in an hour. For comparison, an oven uses about 3KW...
