Consulting potential car shoppers about their reluctance to embrace electric vehicles leads to a common refrain: it’s all about the charging process. While drivers are accustomed to refueling with gasoline, the concept of plugging in is less familiar. There’s apprehension about waiting for a charge, which can take anywhere from 20 minutes to eight hours to replenish a battery, depending on the charger’s capabilities.
This backdrop makes the fervor surrounding a surprise announcement from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD understandable. The company revealed this week that it will launch two new models in April that can gain 250 miles of range in just five minutes.
This charging speed is double that of even the next-generation Tesla Superchargers. Following BYD’s announcement, Tesla experienced a five percent drop in its stock price.
Filling up in just five minutes sounds impressive and could significantly address the concerns many drivers have about EVs. However, experts caution that this may not be the revolutionary charging advancement it appears to be.
According to Bloomberg, BYD claims this incredibly fast charging capability stems from an “all liquid-cooled megawatt flash-charging terminal system,” combined with a cutting-edge silicon carbide power chip designed for automotive use. This innovative pairing allows the vehicle to process up to 1,000 volts of charge, marking a modest yet noteworthy advancement compared to competitors among passenger vehicles. In general, a higher voltage—paired with adequate amperage, or electrical flow—results in quicker charging times. Most popular electric vehicles, like the Tesla Model 3, operate on 400-volt “platforms,” which tend to be less expensive to produce, although more 800-volt models are emerging. The upcoming Lucid Gravity, for example, will feature a powertrain that operates at 926 volts, but BYD takes it a step further.
The more significant innovation from BYD might actually lie in its charging stations, which the manufacturer plans to develop to maximize that 1,000-volt potential. According to BYD, they aim to install 4,000 of these charging stations in China; however, specifics regarding their locations and operational timelines remain unclear. (BYD did not respond to WIRED’s inquiries for more information.)
Establishing these rapid charging stations will likely prove complicated. “It’s going to be a lengthy process,” states Gil Tal, who leads the Electric Vehicle Research Center at UC Davis. Creating charging stations can already take several months, sometimes stretching into years, in many countries due to prolonged permitting procedures and the time required to source, construct, and assemble the necessary charging infrastructure.
Additionally, larger megawatt charging stations demand greater power supply, often leading to costly upgrades to the electrical grid. Moreover, an advanced liquid-cooling system like the one described by BYD necessitates heavy-duty, specially manufactured cables and connectors capable of effectively dissipating heat. “They require more copper, increased cooling, and more of everything,” Tal explains. This translates to higher initial construction costs, which could lead to elevated charging prices for consumers.
Despite the ambiguity surrounding BYD’s plans, experts in the electric vehicle sector are well aware of some of these factors, as the concept of super-fast charging is not entirely novel. Development of megawatt charging systems capable of delivering up to 1,250 volts has been ongoing for nearly a decade, primarily focusing on rapid charging for heavy-duty commercial vehicles such as electric trucks and buses. The push for super-fast charging has mainly targeted these vehicles for two main reasons: they have significantly larger battery packs, and they are predominantly operated by organizations and governments in fleet settings, where downtime for charging translates to lost revenue. As a result, depot operators are typically more willing to invest in the advanced technology required for super-fast charging. The question remains: will they be inclined to make similar investments for passenger vehicles, and at what expense?
