Shenzhen, China-based BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, has introduced a platform for EVs that it says could charge vehicles as quickly as it takes to pump petrol.

The company also said for the first time it would build an EV charging network in China.

The “Super e-Platform” consists of blade batteries supporting ultra-fast charging, high-performance electric motors and a new generation of silicon carbide power chips, BYD said at a launch event on Monday.

Flash-charge batteries

The company called the batteries flash-charge batteries, saying they have a 10 C charge multiplier, the highest of any mass-produced battery in the world.

A 10 C multiplier theoretically means the battery can be fully charged in one-tenth of an hour, or six minutes.

The batteries support charging voltages of up to 1,000 V and charging currents of up to 1,000 A, allowing charging power of up to 1,000 kilowatts (kW), the world’s highest ratings, the company said.

A five-minute charge would give the driver 400 kilometres of driving range, based on tests with the upcoming Han L sedan, according to the firm.

The charging power is twice the 500-kW peak of Tesla’s latest V4 supercharging technology.

“In order to completely solve our user’s charging anxiety, we have been pursuing a goal to make the charging time of electric vehicles as short as the refuelling time of petrol vehicles,” said founder Wang Chuanfu at the livestreamed event.

“This is the first time in the industry that the unit of megawatt (charge) has been achieved on charging power,” he said.

Wang said the company would begin construction of a network of supercharging stations across China supporting the 1,000 kW (or 1 megawatt) charging power, with plans to build more than 4,000 such facilities.

High-performance motor

He didn’t give a time frame for the construction or indicate how much BYD was investing in the project.

Energy storage facilities are to be linked to the superchargers so that the 1 MW charge can be reached even if the local area does not supply sufficient power capacity.

The company also introduced a high-performance electric motor that it said exceeded the performance of a V12 petrol engine and a new generation of silicon carbide power chips to support the motors.

It said the first models to use the Super e-Platform, the Han L sedan and the Tang L SUV, would be available for pre-sales immediately.

Officials said the Han L could accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in 2.7 seconds and the Tang L in 3.6 seconds.

Both are equipped with BYD’s God’s Eye B smart driving system, with hardware including roof-mounted LiDAR.

The models, along with hybrid versions, will be officially launched at an event in early April.