"In China, BYD is currently building 4,000 1.5MW charging stations across the country, with plans to roll out 20,000 by the end of this year.
Although not quite as ambitious, a BYD spokesperson for the European side of the business told me that the company is targeting 2,000 1.5mW Flash Charging stations across Europe before 2026 comes to a close."
I’m fascinated by the economics of this. How does BYD make money on this? Do they run the chargers at a profit? How much will this work out per km for drivers compared to diesel or gasoline?
People think of BYD as a budget car marker, but this to support its luxury brand Denza. The Denza Z9 GT EV has a range of 1,036 km (644 miles) on these chargers. I’m guessing having the best charagers is going to be seen as premium/luxury too.
Does charging that fast reduce the life of the batteries?
Probably not much. So far from studies it seems fast charging at worst causes 2% degradation. BYD put a lot of high tech in that battery for longevity.
Damn. That’s 750,000 miles in Freedom* Units. Too bad they’ll never be allowed to sell to the US.
Yeah, the German car manufacturing sector is having a “Oh come on!” moment over this.
Knowing nothing about these specific setups, but knowing how charging lithium ion and LiFePO4 batteries work and my own experience with charging at different rates, yes.
It definitely reduces the battery life to jam that much current in and out of it, the higher rate you charge, the less accurately you’ll get to 100% charge, and you don’t want to overcharge or repeatedly undercharge it. This will more rapidly degrade the battery.
That said, with battery prices plummeting, and presumably only doing this when you absolutely NEED the charge ASAP, it might be worth it to have the ability to charge that fast.
Plus it would make for some sick EV racing, when you have set battery sizes and 10-30 second pit stops for more power being part of the race.