Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD has launched its second-generation Blade Battery and a 1,500 kW flash charging system it says can charge a car faster than filling a petrol tank. The company announced the technology last week and has already begun deploying chargers across China.
What Is the New Blade Battery 2.0?
The Blade Battery 2.0 offers a range of over 1,000 km under China’s CLTC testing standard. Under the US EPA’s more conservative system, that figure translates to about 725 km, or 450 miles. BYD says the battery is cheaper to produce than its predecessor and is ready to be fitted in ten production models, including the Yangwang U7, Denza Z9GT, Seal 07, and Sealion 06.
How Does the Flash Charging System Work?
BYD’s flash charger delivers up to 1,500 kW of power. The company says this allows the Blade Battery to charge from 10% to 70% in five minutes, and from 10% to 97% in nine minutes. The system relies on batteries with a 10C charging multiplier, high-power motors, high-voltage silicon carbide chips, and chargers built to handle megawatt-level power delivery.
BYD says it already operates 4,239 flash charging stations and plans to expand that network to 20,000 stations by the end of this year.
The chargers use an overhead rail design. Cables hang from a sliding T-shaped rack, allowing drivers to plug in on either side of the car. This also supports pull-through charging for vehicles towing trailers. The design keeps cables off the ground and reduces the risk of damage.
How Does It Compare to Rivals?
Tesla’s standard Supercharger network delivers up to 250 kW, using a 400-volt architecture. Its Cybertruck charges at a maximum of 350 kW, and its Semi uses a 1,000-volt system. Geely’s Zeekr brand launched an 800-volt platform last year that charges 80% of a battery in under 11 minutes. BYD’s new system delivers roughly 50% more power than its own previous 1,000 kW Super E-platform.
What Are the Concerns?
Not everyone accepts BYD’s claims without question. Markus Fallbรถhmer, head of battery production at BMW, publicly challenged the approach. “One must be cautious with this type of announcement. It is possible to optimise a single performance indicator, but this implies concessions in other areas,” he said.
BMW limits its fastest models to 400 kW charging and says it can guarantee safety and battery durability at that rate. Fallbรถhmer compared extreme charging speeds to a blanket: pull one side, and problems appear on the other.
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