BYD unveils world’s fastest-charging battery

BYD on Thursday unveiled its second-generation Blade Battery and flash-charging technology, which it described as a new major breakthrough in electrification, as the Chinese automaker seeks to address key pain points in China's new energy vehicle market.

The carmaker said the battery has the fastest charging speed in the world. Under standard conditions, it can charge from 10 percent to 70 percent in five minutes and from 10 percent to 97 percent in nine minutes.

The new battery is also designed to ease charging difficulties in cold weather, reaching 20 percent to 97 percent in 12 minutes at minus 20 degrees Celsius. It added that the battery has passed a series of safety tests exceeding China's latest national standards.

The company also said vehicles equipped with the new battery can use China's existing network of 4.8 million public chargers, with overall charging speeds 30 percent to 50 percent higher.

BYD also unveiled a flash charger with single-gun charging power of up to 1,500 kilowatts, which it said is the world's highest for a mass-produced charger of its kind.

To support the rollout, BYD aims to build 20,000 flash-charging stations nationwide by the end of 2026, including 2,000 highway stations.

It said the highway network is expected to cover nearly one-third of expressway service areas, with the first 1,000 highway stations to be completed before this year's May Day holiday. As of March 5, BYD had built 4,239 stations around the country.