800-volt battery

A battery with a system voltage of around 800 V instead of around 400 V; for the same power it needs half the current, so cables and contacts heat up less.

Explained in

Charging hardware · Stop 06Why do cables get thicker at higher power?Current, not power, sizes a cable. Why heat grows with the square of current, why 800-volt cars need less of it, and when cables are cooled with liquid.

Cars with an 800-volt battery need half the current for the same power. The cable carries less, and the heat falls to a quarter. The IEC specification names both levers: more charging power needs a higher voltage, a higher current, or both, and the higher current is what calls for thermal management.

From “Why voltage helps”, stop 06
  1. IEC (free preview by VDE Verlag): IEC TS 62196-3-1:2020, DC vehicle connector, inlet and cable assembly with a thermal management system: introduction and scope. https://www.vde-verlag.de/iec-normen/preview-pdf/info_iects62196-3-1%7Bed1.0%7Den.pdf. Checked 13 Oct 2026.