The future 100% electric SUV from Porsche will benefit from its 800V architecture even on non-optimized charging stations.
Porsche’s second 100% electric vehicle, the Macan EV is one of the most anticipated cars of the year. As a good communicator, its manufacturer distils the information concerning it. Thus, on the occasion of the publication of an article on the Porsche blog, we learn more about its charging system and its rather unique ability to ignore the least interesting chargers for its 800 V architecture. In other words, the future electric Porsche Macan will not need to seek the most powerful terminals on the network to charge faster. But how is this possible?
Like the Porsche Taycan, Porsche’s first electric vehicle, the Macan will be based on the 800 V PPE architecture. This technical structure has an undeniable advantage: it allows charging capacities far beyond the average, up to 270kW. Moreover, the Porsche is not the only one to enjoy this benefit, the Kia EV6 or the Hyundai Ioniq 5 also benefit from it. The only drawback is that all the fast terminals on the network, including at Ionity or Tesla, do not allow this power to be reached and for good reason, these have been designed for 400V vehicles. In these cases, on 400V terminals, Porsche like Hyundai and Kia display lower charging performance. Instead of about 20 minutes to go from 5 to 80%, it takes about 35.
Mislead the terminals to better charge
To avoid this kind of inconvenience, the two Koreans have developed a system to circumvent this limitation: they rely on the inverter of their electric motor which automatically converts the energy received with some losses in passing. The other solution consists in integrating an additional charger, compatible with the 400V terminals. But this implies an additional cost, a loss of useful space and above all excess weight, which Porsche categorically refuses. Zuffenhausen engineers have therefore developed another system that allows them to charge quickly without loss of energy.
Indeed, the Porsche Macan will be equipped with a system to simulate the existence of two batteries in 400V format, operating in parallel. Concretely, the future Macan will be equipped with a 100 kWh battery, but when it is connected to non-optimized terminals, it will virtually divide its pack into two 50 kWh 400V batteries. Thus, it will be able to take advantage of the maximum charging power offered by the charging station, without losing energy in the conversion process. It should be noted that Porsche is not the only market player to think of this solution. GM, to name a few, is working on a similar solution.
The electric Porsche Macan could be unveiled at the very end of 2023. On the other hand, its marketing is estimated at 2024. The manufacturer announces it as the sportiest SUV in its category and for good reason, with a 450 kW engine (603 hp) and a torque of 1,000 Nm, the next electric Porsche should not lack arguments.
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