Chinese language auto maker BYD made waves this week when it introduced its new Han L sedan may add as a lot as 248 miles of vary in as little as 5 minutes.

Sadly, the corporate was mild on particulars, and it didn’t reply to TechCrunch’s request for clarification. So as a substitute, we’ve scoured the net for info, filling within the gaps to find out precisely how BYD was capable of make an EV that apparently can recharge as rapidly because it takes to refill a fuel automobile. 

What we discovered largely helps the auto makers claims, with a couple of caveats.

Battery pack

Central to the Han L’s quick charging is its inner electrical infrastructure. It begins with the battery, which according to CarNewsChina citing regulatory paperwork, is an 83.2 kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) pack that operates at 945 volts. (In its advertising supplies, the corporate seems to have rounded up and lists it at 1,000 volts). 

The battery chemistry is probably going central to the automobile’s fast-charging functionality. LFP batteries have lengthy been regarded for his or her stability and security; they don’t catch fireplace almost as readily as different sorts like nickel manganese cobalt (NMC). They will additionally cost sooner due to some electrochemical quirks inherent within the cathode-anode design of an LFP cell. (There’s a terrific slide deck from the Nationwide Renewable Vitality Laboratory that explains why in additional element.) 

To high it off, BYD has been working with LFP for years, and its newest battery structure, often known as Blade 2.0, is predicted to debut within the new automobile. That have has most likely given the corporate’s engineers sense of how far they will push each the batteries and {the electrical} structure.

Electrical system

Feeding the battery pack is a high-voltage electrical system that runs at 945 volts. Automakers have been pursuing ever larger voltages as a result of larger voltages generates much less warmth, permitting extra energy to be delivered safely and effectively. Presently, Lucid runs a 900-volt structure in its automobiles, and several other others like Hyundai Kia and Porsche function 800-volt in lots of theirs. With Teslas, it relies on the automobile: The Cybertruck makes use of an 800-volt structure whereas the rest function at round 400 volts, give or take, relying on the mannequin.

Add all of it up and the Han L can cost at as much as 1 megawatt, or 1,000 kilowatts. The quickest broadly accessible EV chargers within the U.S. in the present day ship solely 350 kilowatts.

However even when working at 945 volts or 1,000 volts, the quantity of warmth generated by 1 megawatt charging is critical, and the cables to assist it must be extremely thick. Even slower, quick, charging cables like those which can be connected to 350 kW chargers are wrapped in liquid cooling, additional rising their bulk.

Maybe in an effort to make the charging cables extra manageable, BYD has adopted what it’s calling a twin gun method: The automobile has two charging ports, every of which might plug right into a 500 kW charger concurrently. 

Collectively, they ship 1 megawatt.

Vary shenanigans

In accordance with BYD, that permits the automobile so as to add 248 miles of vary (400 km) in 5 minutes.

Sadly, drivers are unlikely to journey that far after such a fast cost. That’s as a result of the Chinese language equal of the EPA check cycle, the CLTC, is notoriously optimistic. It’s about 35% larger than EPA rankings, according to InsideEVs, which themselves are both spot on or optimistic relying on how a lot freeway driving is concerned.

Realistically, drivers can most likely count on round 160 miles of vary from a five-minute cost and round 280 miles from a full battery. For a extra apples-to-apples comparability, it’s useful to have a look at how lengthy it takes to cost from 16% to 80% (10 minutes) or from 16% to 100% (24 minutes). Irrespective of the way you slice it, that’s fairly quick.

Charging technique

However an EV’s charging velocity is barely nearly as good because the chargers and the way broadly accessible they’re. To that finish, BYD is pledging to put in greater than 4,000 of them all through China. Every charging station would require vital grid upgrades, although, as a 1-megawatt energy draw would seemingly pressure the present infrastructure.

When will we see this within the U.S.? Don’t depend on with the ability to purchase a BYD Han L anytime quickly, even when the roughly $37,000 beginning worth would give the market a welcome jolt. Chinese language-made EVs are presently topic to a 100% tariff, elevating costs to the purpose the place they’re not aggressive.

However that doesn’t imply equally quick charging will stay out of attain for People. Vehicles on the market in the present day already can cost from 20 to 80% in 18 minutes, so it’s solely a matter of time earlier than automakers convey these instances down.