Charging almost like refueling

BYD presents electric car with 1 megawatt charging capacity

(Bild: AFP/HECTOR RETAMAL)

Every minute that you can charge faster counts with electric cars. At the moment, the best cars manage a range of over 300 kilometers in ten minutes. BYD has now unveiled a battery that should be able to cover 400 km in just five minutes.

The Chinese e-car company Build Your Dreams, or BYD for short, wants to be able to significantly speed up the charging process for cars. On Monday, the company presented a new e-car platform that reportedly only takes a few minutes to charge. Peak charging capacities of one megawatt are possible, said company founder Wang Chuanfu in an online event. Enough energy for 470 kilometers (292 miles) of driving could be recharged within five minutes.

By comparison, the Mercedes CLA, which has just been unveiled, recharges 325 kilometers in ten minutes at best.

The new BYD system works with 1000 volts. Up to now, 800 volts has been the highest level. However, BYD is already working on 1500 volts. This is intended to charge the iron phosphate batteries of construction machinery with up to 600 kW. And that up to 7000 times.

Fast charging is considered crucial in the industry to help electric cars achieve a breakthrough. However, there are still no fast chargers on the market that can charge with an output of one megawatt. The latest generation of Tesla Superchargers has an output of 500 kilowatts.

Timetable uncertain
BYD has announced that it will build 4000 of its own ultra-fast chargers in China to charge the new cars. The technology will initially be used in two models, the Han saloon and the Tang SUV. However, the company did not comment on the timetable.

There are always reports of battery revolutions. Now BYD has to follow up the announcement with action.