A method for charging a battery cell includes first transferring of energy from a power source to a plurality of capacitive regions in the battery cell followed by transferring of charge stored in the plurality of capacitive regions of the battery cell into at least an electrolytic mixture that comprises the battery cell and electrodes immersed in the electrolyte mixture. The capacitive regions in the battery cell comprise capacitive double layers between the electrolyte mixture and particles of active material that comprise the battery cell. The transferring of energy from the power source to the capacitive regions occurs for a first duration of time sufficient to substantially fully charge the capacitive regions.