China’s electric vehicle charging race has another contender, with Chery unveiling a 1.44-megawatt ultra-fast charging system capable of delivering a claimed 500km of driving range in just five minutes.

Named Volt-Dragon, the technology was revealed at Chery’s Global Innovation Conference and represents the manufacturer’s response to increasingly powerful charging systems being developed by Chinese rivals BYD, Geely and Huawei.

Chery claims Volt-Dragon can replenish a compatible battery from 10 to 97 per cent in just six minutes and 50 seconds, potentially placing it among the world’s fastest charging technologies.

That compares with a claimed six minutes and 27 seconds for CATL’s third-generation Shenxing battery, while comparable charging figures for BYD and Geely are approximately nine minutes.

1

The figures remain manufacturer claims, however, and Chery has yet to identify which production vehicles will support the system. Compatible models are expected to require 800-volt or higher electrical architectures.

Volt-Dragon incorporates silicon carbide power electronics and liquid cooling to manage the substantial heat generated during high-power charging. Chery claims overall charging efficiency of 96.5 per cent, while a lightweight charging connector and cable assembly weighs just 2kg.

The company also says the system can deliver 500km of additional range in eight minutes under less favourable conditions, although detailed performance figures for extreme temperatures haven’t been released.

Artificial intelligence is another component, with Chery’s newly announced CheryMind platform expected to help manage charging operations. However, precisely how the technology will improve charging performance remains unclear.

1

Future developments include robotic charging arms allowing vehicles to connect automatically, alongside vehicle-to-grid capability enabling electricity stored in EV batteries to be returned to the grid.

Chery plans to establish 100 Volt-Dragon charging stations across 10 Chinese cities initially, with ambitions to operate more than 20,000 stations worldwide by 2029.

As Electrek reports, competition is intensifying rapidly, with BYD already deploying thousands of megawatt chargers and Geely announcing a 2.2MW system.

Whether these extraordinary charging speeds can be replicated consistently in everyday conditions remains to be demonstrated.