BYD to roll out first 1,000 kW ultrafast charging stations in early April

BYD's first ultrafast charging stations with charging power of up to 1,000 kW, or 1 MW, will be ready for use in China next month, to prepare for the launch of the Han L sedan and the Tang L SUV

BYD unveiled its first ultrafast charging stations with charging power of up to 1,000 kW, or 1 MW, on March 17, saying it can charge 400 km in 5 minutes and add 2 kilometers of range to an EV in one second. The official name of the charger is “Megawatt Flash Charger” and it is the world’s first EV charger that can handle 1,000 V and 1,000 A. It also doubles Tesla’s latest V4 Cabinet Supercharger, which has a maximum output of 500 kW.

BYD plans to build 4,000 1MW charging stations but didn’t previously provide a timeline. The company’s Brand General Manager, Li Yunfei, has now announced that the first 500 units will go into operation in early April. “Some people still don’t believe it or have doubts. But BYD’s style has always been – mass production as soon as it is released. 500 units of 1000 kW charging stations will be available in April,” Li said. BYD said at the time that it plans to build more than 4,000 of these facilities, but did not mention a specific timetable.

BYD will attach energy storage facilities to the charging stations with such superchargers, so that the 1,000-kW charging power can be achieved even in areas where the local grid cannot supply enough electricity.

The first batch of about 500 will be ready for use when the Han L sedan and Tang L SUV are launched in early April. The Han L EV and the Tang L SUV are flagships under the BYD brand. They started presales in China on March 17 at 270,000 yuan ($37,300). Both cars will make their public debuts at the Shanghai Auto Show in late April. Han L and Tang L can be charged with two charging plugs simultaneously. This is nothing new, as BYD already tested this technology on a three-year-old Denza D9. Moreover, BYD’s 1MW charger can actually deliver peak charging of 1,360kW. However, the BMS of Han and Tang L can only handle 1000 kW. BYD already shared a video where Han L adds 2 km per second when plugged into a 1000 kW charger, and that is only with one plug.

BYD's style has always been to mass-produce new technologies as soon as they are released, Li said, and invited doubters to come and experience the first 1,000-kW flash charging station when they go online. He also hinted that BYD's new technology will not have a major impact on other charging methods.

BYD Han L EV (left) and Tang L SUV

To achieve a charging power of 1 MW, the vehicle needs to use BYD's latest blade battery. BYD calls the battery a flash charging battery, saying it has a 10 C charging rate, which is currently the highest for mass-produced power batteries in the world. C is the battery's charging rate, and 10 C theoretically means that the battery can be fully charged in one-tenth of an hour -- 6 minutes. BYD said it has redesigned the blade battery to allow faster ion transport in the electrolyte and less resistance through the separator, thereby achieving faster charging. The battery supports charging voltages of up to 1,000 V and charging currents of up to 1,000 A, which allows charging power of 1,000 kW, both of which are the highest in the world, according to the company.