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We've chosen an unmissable article from the latest edition of The Economist.
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A line of electric vehicles, or EVs, plugged into rechargers as their drivers wait patiently for their batteries
to be topped up, has become a familiar sight at many service stations.
Though some of the latest EVs can recharge in 20 minutes, many take much longer.
Yet some EV drivers could soon be back on the road much more quickly.
Companies are developing ultra-fast charging systems which can refill a battery almost as fast
as a fossil fuel car can be filled up.
Rapid recharging could dispel one of the last remaining obstacles to widespread EV adoption.
One such system will be unveiled in Paris on April 8th by BYD, a Chinese firm that is the world's biggest EV maker.
It consists of a powerful 1,500-kilowatt drive-through charger,
which looks like a large overhead gantry from which recharging cables descend.
When plugged into a Denzer Z9 GT, BYD's new premium model,
the car's 122-kilowatt-hour blade battery can be boosted from 10% capacity to 70% in five minutes.
A full charge takes nine minutes.
Topping up an EV battery requires a charger to convert alternating current,
as delivered from the mains, into a direct current.
A charger contained in the cars themselves can handle slow overnight charging when plugged into a household supply.