Vehicle manufacturer BYD has revealed a new electric vehicle (EV) platform which it claims matches the refuelling speed of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
Called Super e-Platform, the new architecture introduces a number of technologies that it claims “set world records in the mass-produced electric-vehicle ecosystem”.
The platform’s core electric components – motor, electronic control and battery – have all been “comprehensively upgraded” compared with existing configurations, the manufacturer said.
Posting on social media channel Weibo, the company illustrated the platform’s performance in a short video.
It achieves a charging power of one megawatt (1,000kW), one of the highest peak charging speed for mass-production vehicles. The platform can add two kilometres of range per second, with a five-minute flash charge for 400 kilometres (249 miles) of driving range. Charging needs to combine both ultra-high voltage and high current.
The architecture features a single power-motor output of 580kW, delivering a top speed in its two initial models, the China-market HAN L and TANG L, of more than 300 km/h (186 mph).
In addition, the platform also introduces BYD’s ‘Flash Charging Battery’, which features an ultra-fast ion channel from the battery’s anode to cathode for a maximum charging current of 1,000A and a maximum charging rate of 10C. To support these rates, BYD has developed and mass-produced a new generation of automotive-grade silicon carbide (SiC) power chip with a voltage rating of up to 1,500V.
The new ultra-rapid charging technology requires advanced charging stations to operate at its full capacity. At the launch event, BYD also announced a full liquid-cooled megawatt flash-charging terminal system that can deliver a maximum output of 1,360kW. It plans to build more than 4,000 megawatt flash-charging stations across China.
Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and President of BYD Group, said:
“To completely eliminate users’ charging anxiety, our goal is to make EV charging as fast as refuelling a gasoline car – achieving ‘oil-electric parity’ in charging speed.”
Still of video courtesy of BYD
