A consortium including BMW and Porsche has unveiled a fast charger that can deliver enough power to an electric car’s batteries in 3 minutes for it to travel 100 kilometers.

The new charger can put the batteries’ state of charge above 80 percent in 15 minutes.

However, fast charging requires enough power. The charger’s 450 kilowatts require both the batteries and the charging cables to be cooled. That’s why the first station, which has just been opened to the public in the state of Bavaria, will feed just 50 kW to the BMW i3, for instance. The company’s iX3, due out in 2020, will take 150 kW.

The consortium also includes Allego GmbH, the operator; Phoenix Contact E-Mobility, which provided charging technology; and Siemens, which handled engineering.

The small amount of EVs currently on the roads does not require utilities for ultra-fast-charging. Wireless charging, once it’s widely available in garages, could provide an alternative, according to Witricity, which develops such systems. The company is working with Honda on a project to allow EVs to trade electric power with the grid.