Lightning-fast recharging: Lotus leading the charge for faster top-ups with new 480kW Liquid-Cooled Power Cabinet

Forget Tesla’s Superchargers, if you want the EV equivalent of a quick splash you need to find a new Lotus Liquid Cooled Power Cabinet.

Thanks to pioneering new technology that circulates cooling liquid through the charging connecter to prevent overheating, the new Lotus ultra-fast Supercharger rival can recharge at a class-leading 480kW.

At that rate, plug in the latest Lotus Eletre R SUV and you can add up to 142km of range in less than five minutes, with a 10 to 80 per cent top up taking just 20 minutes.

In comparison, plug a Tesla into the US brand’s fastest 350kW V3 Supercharger and a similar five-minute charge only adds 120km of range.

Despite only releasing full details now, Lotus says its next-gen chargers are already available to Chinese buyers and the network will be rolled out to the Middle East and Europe from Q2 of 2024.

As well as the flagship Liquid Cooled Power Cabinet, that’s designed for short bursts of charge at places like a highway servo, the Chinese Geely-owned Lotus has also created a slightly slower 450kW Liquid-Cooled All-in-One DC Charger.

Finally, there’s a Liquid-Cooled Charging Unit that bundles the Power Cabinets together tocharge up to four vehicles at once.

Instead of rolling out its chargers itself, Lotus says it will install the new tech at its dealers and then offer the tech to both fleets and charging point providers.

Better still, unlike Tesla Superchargers the new Lotus network of ultra-fast chargers can be used by any EV, although only vehicles with an 800-volt electric architecture will be able to access the very fastest charging speeds.

Lotus is investing in EV infrastructure as it one of the growing number of car-makers committed to the switch to all-electric power with the British firm announcing that from 2028 it will only introduce all-electric models.

Commenting on the new liquid-cooled chargers Alan Wang vice-president of Lotus Technology said: “As more governments are increasing investment into electrification in their journey to net-zero, the demand for a reliable electric vehicle charging infrastructure has never been higher than before. Lotus has developed best-in-class fast-charging solutions to deliver a quick and reliable charging experience to meet customer needs.”