In this work, an isothermal, physics-based, dual lithium-ion insertion cell sandwich model is used for simulating the galvanostatic charge performance of a graphite (LixC6)/liquid electrolyte/Li-y(NiaCobMnc)O2 at room temperature at various current densities. The modeling results are compared with experimental cell potential vs. capacity data. The validated model is used to identify the bottlenecks to fast charging by quantification of the various contributions to the cell overpotential. Lithium plating at the negative electrode is shown to be thermodynamically feasible during galvanostatic charging at 2C rate and above. This work will aid in research and development activities to overcome the hurdles to fast charging of advance electric vehicle batteries. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.