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Electric car drivers could benefit from massive breakthroughs in charging rates due to technology being developed on racetracks around the world. Manufacturers such as Nissan, Porsche and Jaguar are topping-up race cars within just seconds in competition, and experts warn the findings could soon see massive improvements for road-going EVs.

Formula E, an all-electric single-easter motorsport series, adopted a new PITBOOST feature in 2025, with teams adding 10% energy increase in just 30 seconds using a blistering 600kW charger. The plugs are around six times quicker than typical roadside rapid chargers and could see EVs topped up at the same rate it takes to fill up a petrol and diesel car.

The tech is also helping firms to get to grips with thermal management, with intense heat one of the big issues with ultra-fast charging.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk at the Berlin e-Prix, Dan Cherowbrier, Formula E's Chief Technical Officer explained how the technology was helping car brands learn for the future.

He said: "It's the same connector as a real world charger. That's the first start of that journey. If you take a real-world charger that you have in Moto service stations or Welcome Breaks, they wouldn't be able to deal with 600kW, the heat would be too much because the precision engineering of that charger isn't there. We've done that here and now, [manufacturers] are learning how to push that out so they can do it on a wider scale."

A 600kW charging for an everyday domestic car, family hatchback would fill the battery to 80% within just five or six minutes, much quicker than the average of around half an hour. The new equipment is also adopting software to ensure rapid charging does not affect or degrade the life or performance of the battery.

Tomasso Volpe, Managing Director and Team Principal of Nissan Formula E Team told Express.co.uk: "It's impressive the speed of which the technology of battery is progressing. At the moment you can see in China, cars that are charged in six minutes... The technology is progressing very fast and very quickly.

Ex-F1 driver and Envision Racing Formula E star Sebastian Buemi explained it was just a "matter of time" before motorists would be able to charge their battery in two or three minutes like a normal petrol and diesel road car. Plugs offering speeds of up to 600kW are already available through Ionity, but these are only based at a few locations in Europe.

Chinese electric car brand BYD are among the leading players already looking at adopting flash charging which could see cars topped up from between 10% to 70% in just five minutes.

However, Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport of Porsche Formula E team, suggested that speed wasn't always the most important metric.

He told Express.co.uk: "10% of the battery capacity we charge in 30 seconds. That's really a lot. 600kW charging power. That's a showcase to the outside world of what is possible.

"When you think about road cars, it's very important not to reach high peaks and then drop. You need a long-lasting high-charging power level. The Cayenne electric charges from 10% to 80% battery in less than 16 minutes. If you experience this while traveling on the highway, you quickly grab a coffee and 16 minutes are done. That's how this technology evolves."

Dan stressed that although battery technology is progressing, it will likely take some time for local infrastructure to catch up.

Despite this, he is confident that some sort of flash charging tech could be available on the road within a "few years" in a boost for owners.

He told Express.co.uk: "You've also got to have the grid to support it. We trickle charge these batteries that we then roll out and then that does the flash charge. That same technology has to get to the service stations as well.

"What you can't do is everyone going at the same time, you'll need megawatts and it would be unsustainable. But it's very much there, it's within a few years of coming onboard."