BYD introduces megawatt charging for electric cars

BYD refers to its new batteries used in the platform as flash-charge batteries. The manufacturer claims to have redesigned the blade batteries “to allow faster ion transfer in the electrolyte and less resistance through the diaphragm,” as CN EV China explains. These changes allow for faster charging.

During the presentation, BYD said the batteries support up to 1,000 volts and charging currents of up to 1,000 amps. That makes it possible to charge them with up to one megawatt. On Weibo, BYD wrote (in Chinese) that it is the first to achieve “global mass production of megawatt flash charging with the highest peak charging speed of 1 second and 2 kilometres, completely solving users’ charging anxiety when travelling.”

The 10 C charging rate capability is the highest of any battery currently mass-produced. The ‘C’ is an indicator of the ratio of battery size to charging power. With 1C, an 80 kWh battery can be charged with a maximum of 80 kW. At 5C, the same battery can theoretically be charged with five times the charging power – i.e. up to 400 kW.

We first reported that BYD was planning a 1,000-volt platform at the beginning of March. And as previously assumed, the technology will debut in the Han L and Tang L. Pre-orders for the two models have already begun, with the official market launch planned for early April. Prices start at 270,000 yuan, which is about 34,000 euros.

On the website, BYD offers the Han L EV with charging multipliers of up to 10 C, while the Tang L EV can “only” achieve 8.4 C. It means the latter can charge up to 370 kilometres in five minutes, while the Han L EV can charge an extra 400 kilometres in the same amount of time. You can find more on the design of the models in this article.

The ‘Super e-Platform’ not only consists of the batteries. It also has a high-performance 580 kW electric motor in the rear axle and a new generation of silicon carbide power modules (1,500V). With up to 30,511 revolutions per minute, the new electric motor tops the performance of a V12 fuel engine, says BYD. It allows BYD’s EV to sprint from zero to 100 kph “in a 2-second range,” as Car News China reports. According to the carmaker’s website, the Han L EV needs 2.7 seconds and the Tang L EV 3.9 seconds to reach the 100 kph mark. The latter has a top speed of 257 kph, while the Han is said to be able to speed up to 305 kph.

BYD to roll out 1 MW charger for cars in China

BYD also presented an ultra-fast charging station that can provide well over one megawatt of charging power (some media are talking about 1,000 kW, but BYD seems to indicate that it should be up to 1,360 kW). The so-called ‘Megawatt Flash Charger’ thus supports 10C charging, enabling the above-mentioned EVs with the 1,000V system to recharge up to 400 kilometres in just five minutes.

As Car News China points out, during a live demonstration, the ‘Megawatt Flash Charger’ reached the 1 MW charging level in 10 seconds while charging a Han L EV and Tang L EV.

BYD wants to install more than 4,000 of its new Megawatt Flash Chargers’ and, where necessary, add stationary energy storage units to draw the necessary energy.

Just to put things in perspective: Tesla says it will increase charging speeds to up to 500 kW at the V4 Supercharger. Xpeng’s S5 even offers 800 kW, however, there have not been any mass-produced cars to support that much charging power. Not to mention the limitations of the power grid.

The first Chinese electric cars are already being offered with 5C batteries, such as the Li Mega from Li Auto or the current version of the Zeekr 001. Both have batteries from CATL on board, which should theoretically be able to charge up to 500 kilometres in twelve minutes, although the maximum charging power of these batteries should only ever be available for a short time.

carnewschina.com, cnevpost.com, byd.com (Han L EV), byd.com (Tang L EV)