Ford is developing an innovative system that will allow charging the cells of electric vehicle (EV) batteries through multiple charging ports simultaneously, with the aim of significantly reducing charging times.
This idea has been documented in a patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on November 12, 2024, although its original application dates back to December 8, 2021.
The system detailed in the patent suggests a “partition” structure that would allow for the charging of individual sections of the battery.
How Ford’s patent works
This would be achieved through an adapter that distributes the energy from a connector to the two charging ports of the vehicle, allowing each port to handle charging different parts of the battery pack, thereby increasing the efficiency of the process.
It is important to note that while Ford and General Motors (GM) are exploring similar ideas for electric vehicle charging, Ford’s approach does not use the dual-layer method that GM has implemented in models like the GMC Hummer EV.
In GM vehicles, each battery layer acts as an individual pack connected in parallel, a concept that differs from Ford’s proposal.
While some high-end electric vehicles, such as the Porsche Taycan and the Audi E-Tron GT, feature dual charging ports, their simultaneous use is not possible at this time.
The upcoming Mercedes-Benz CLA will also feature dual ports to offer more flexibility to drivers. However, Ford’s approach has the potential to change the current charging dynamics by allowing the joint use of its ports, as long as this concept goes into production.