Posted on 05/11/2025 8:12:19 AM PDT by Red Badger
Ask someone who drives a gasoline-powered car why they wouldn't want to get an electric one, and you're almost certain to hear this answer: they take way too long to charge.
They're not even entirely wrong. Even though DC fast charging times are getting shorter and shorter for modern electric vehicles, they can seem totally unacceptable for anyone who's used to fueling a gas-powered car in a matter of minutes—and that still describes most people in this country.
To counter this, the Chinese carmaking giant BYD, which recently surpassed Tesla in EV sales, came up with an idea so ambitious that it almost sounds impossible. Engineers sought to cut EV fast-charging down to five minutes—roughly what it takes to fill up a gas-powered car.
When BYD announced that it had actually pulled this off with some of its latest EVs, the development made headlines all over the world. It's called Megawatt charging because it delivers 1,000 kilowatts of electrical power at 1,000 volts, which is twice as powerful as the fastest chargers we have here in the United States. And BYD claims its new electric sedan, the Han L, can gain almost 250 miles (400 kilometers) of range in just five minutes with this setup.
I almost didn't believe it. So while I was in China for the Shanghai Auto Show, I knew I had to see it for myself. And after a flight to Beijing for a technical briefing and demonstration, to which InsideEVs was the sole Western outlet invited, I can confirm that five-minute fast-charging is very real.
Will BYD's charging breakthrough be on every street corner in a few years, the way gas stations are right now? Not exactly. But BYD has shown the rest of the world what can be done with EV charging. And it's nothing less than a game-changer for the entire space.
BYD's Megawatt Charging: What It Is And How It Works It's important to understand that BYD's breakthrough isn't just a car, or a battery, or the charger itself. It's all three, and how they work in concert with each other.
It all starts with BYD's new Super e-Platform. The automaker claims it's the world's first mass-produced vehicle platform on a 1,000-volt electrical architecture—higher than the best EVs we have that run on 800 volts, or even the new 926-volt Lucid Gravity. That ultra-high level of voltage, which BYD calls a "kilovolt architecture," is what makes these charging speeds possible.
That was no easy task, BYD engineers said. The components to get that done simply didn't exist, and so BYD had to make them.
That involved self-developed 1,500-volt silicon-carbide power chips, redesigned electric motors and motor controllers, revamped power distribution components and even a reworked heating and air conditioning system. "From the vehicle’s perspective, a kilovolt architecture means multiple parts need to be designed to handle kilovolt-level power," a BYD representative told InsideEVs.
They said it was an exercise in solving "multi-physics challenges"—electrical, magnetic, mechanical and thermal—across the entire vehicle from top to bottom to accommodate such unprecedented levels of power.
But like most Chinese automakers, and Tesla, BYD was able to get this done in-house rather than relying on outside suppliers the way Western car companies do. "The kilovolt architecture represents a comprehensive upgrade of BYD’s EV design system," the automaker said in a technical briefing. "With BYD’s vertical industrial layout, a complete kilovolt manufacturing chain has been established independently."
That electrical architecture has yielded incredible performance in other areas. The two cars that use the Super e-Platform, the Han L sedan and Tang L SUV, can both do zero to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds. (After driving the former around Beijing for a bit, I can tell you I believe those claims.) And BYD said it did those launches up to 70 times continuously without any performance degradation, to give you an idea of how robust it is. (By the way, neither car is very expensive; Han L sedan starts at 209,800 yuan, or around $29,000. The Tang L starts at 229,800 yuan ($31,000) and stretches to 289,800 yuan ($40,000).
None of this would be possible without a battery that's up for the job. But BYD's Flash Charging Battery was born to do it. The Han L gets an 83.2 kWh battery pack, while the Tang L steps up to 100 kWh. A derivative of BYD's "Blade" battery, these are lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) units, a chemistry that China has essentially mastered these days. LFP batteries offer better longevity and durability than nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries that are more common in the West, albeit with less power density.
Still, the battery required extensively reworked electrolytes, separators and electrodes to reduce internal resistance by a claimed 50%, not to mention the latest version of BYD's direct refrigerant cooling system. But the result, BYD claims, is something that is both safe and can take this level of fast-charging punishment regularly.
In fact, BYD also claims improvements to the Blade battery mean a 35% increase in its high-temperature lifespan. "Megawatt charging will not affect the battery," a BYD spokesperson told me. "And the warranty policy is the same as the current Blade battery." (Warranties vary by market.)
None of this would be possible without the Megawatt charging station itself. At only five square feet (1.5 square meters) it's not that large, really. But it does pack incredible power: a maximum output of 1,360 kW. For context, America's most powerful charging stations are the Gravity fast-chargers in New York City, which can output up to 500 kW. The BYD system also has energy storage built into it, saving up power for fast recharges when the grid isn't up to snuff—or for deployment in more rural areas.
"The challenge lies in addressing both the vehicle and the 1000 kW charging pile," a BYD spokesperson said, referring to another term for a charging station. "It requires a comprehensive kilovolt architecture for the vehicle and solving the entire ecosystem for the charging piles."
Interestingly, BYD redesigned the plug, or "gun," to be better for women and smaller folks to use. It's the antidote to the bulky CCS fast-chargers we have in America that can often feel heavy and unwieldy for anyone without a good amount of upper-body strength. The gun is only 4.4 pounds, or 2 kilograms, and while it's not quite as sleek as a Tesla plug, it is definitely easier for me to hold than the average CCS plug I'd find back home.
So to get the most out of BYD's system, it's clear that you need its latest kilovolt-class cars—of which there are only two—and a Megawatt charger as well. Like any DC fast-charger, it will only supply those extreme charging speeds if your EV can take it. But even if you can't find a Megawatt charger, your Han L or Tang L has an extra surprise should you be able to park between two empty charging stalls.
That's because BYD's Super e-Platform cars can take two DC fast-chargers at once. Yes, really.
First Test: BYD's Dual-Gun Charging System A few EVs, namely those made by Audi and Porsche, have two charging ports. But one is usually the sole slot for DC fast charging. And no EVs can take two charging sources at the same time.
That is, unless they have a BYD badge. In order to maximize charging speeds for the times when a full-blown Megawatt charger isn't around, the Han L and Tang L carry two DC fast-charging plugs, and they can use both at the same time. This setup "can instantly transform existing supercharging piles into flash charging ones and fast charging piles into supercharging ones," as BYD puts it.
BYD has used this technology before on cars like the Denza D9 and Denza N7, two vehicles from its luxury brand. But on the Han L and Tang L, dual-gun charging goes to the next level. This latest system can use two 250 kW chargers to deliver speeds of about 500 kW at once. On two 180 kW fast chargers, you'd see speeds of about 360 kW.
That was the first order of the day in Beijing. BYD's crews plugged several Han L and Tang L EVs into two 250 kW stations at the same time. One vehicle I saw started with a 13% state of charge. When plugged into both stations, it started charging at almost 400 kW—more than I had ever seen before with my own eyes—in quick order. I watched it charge to 25% in about a minute.
That alone would be a monumental achievement for EV charging. But the main event was yet to come.
Second Test: BYD's Five-Minute Megawatt Charging
After a brief jaunt through Beijing afternoon traffic, aided by BYD's God Eye automated driving assistance system, our convoy arrived at a local dealership to try Megawatt charging. BYD's demonstration involved one car plugged into the Megawatt station while a projector screen showed the crowd of journalists the charging results.
By the way, contrary to some reports, Megawatt charging does not require the use of two charging guns; that's just a nice benefit if you're out and about and can access two fast-charging plugs at once. But to get to speeds of 1,000 kW, you only need one gun and BYD's special new charger. That was another pleasant surprise on this trip.
Once BYD's staff plugged the car in, it was off to the races.
The Han L sedan used in the test started at 13%. A "1002 KW" logo flashed across its driver display screen. The car leaped to that speed almost immediately, but then it quickly tapered off to about 767 kW. It got to 30% after just a minute and a half, then 40% after two and a half minutes, where it held steady at 633 kW.
About four minutes in, the car was at 50%. In a little under five minutes, the BYD folks called it: 60.10%, while still maintaining a charge speed of 463 kW.
Where it would've gone after that, I do not know. But in that short time plugged in, Han L gained 262 miles (421 km) of driving range. That's quick enough that your bladder—not the car—will be your limiting factor on most road trips.
Where BYD's Megawatt Charging Goes Next The most common criticism levied at BYD's Megawatt charging so far is that it's kind of overkill, an extreme approach that requires an extreme amount of electricity. Some say that perhaps solutions like more Level 2 charging ports everywhere, or simply ever-quicker conventional fast-charging, might be better.
But BYD insists that long charging times are still an obstacle in the way of getting more people to go electric, even in a country dominated by advanced EVs.
"Despite the advancements in EV technology, 'charging anxiety' remains the biggest pain point affecting the user experience," BYD's chairman and president Wang Chuanfu said in a statement. "To fully address this, our goal is to make the charging time of electric vehicles as short as the refueling time for gasoline cars—essentially achieving 'fuel and electricity at the same speed' when it comes to charging."
It's also true that to make the most of Megawatt charging, you need a car on BYD's Super e-Platform and access to a charger that, for now, is only made by BYD and only in China. And like all Chinese EVs, BYD's cars will likely be kept off American roads for years to come thanks to tariffs, software bans, alleged national security concerns and geopolitical tensions.
But after having experienced this for myself, I think it's wrong to dismiss this as anything less than an industry-upending breakthrough. It's not just faster charging; it's a way of reworking an entire vehicle platform, the battery and the charger itself to accommodate unprecedented speeds.
It's hard to believe that those technologies won't trickle down into other models over time. BYD officials hinted that its Denza and Yangwang brands could get the Super e-Platform at some point. It's conceivable other automakers could license the technology too, or build off the research and development that BYD has shown to be possible. The rest of the industry will learn from this, run with it and use it to make charging better and safer, even if it just makes the conventional experience better without going as extreme as 1,000 kW.
China's EV sector is already in a fast-charging arms race. Since BYD's announcement, the Geely Group brand Zeekr and smartphone-giant-turned-automaker Huawei have also announced their own mega-fast chargers. In fact, they're going even bigger, promising speeds of up to 1,200 kW and 1,500 kW. I like to think about how the various advancements it takes to even do that will spread across the rest of the car industry. Moreover, it's far more than just a one-off technical demonstration. BYD already has 500 Megawatt chargers set up across China. That's 40 times more stations than Ionna—a venture backed by the biggest legacy auto companies in the U.S.—has managed to put up so far, despite existing for longer and using proven tech. BYD is aiming to put up 4,000 Megawatt chargers eventually. It's clear the automaker is serious about this and others are going to follow.
This bell can't be unrung. Now, we get to find out if Western automakers and charging companies can answer the call, too.
“We all could have our own nuclear power reactors the size of HVAC units sitting outside next to them”
Our new Chinese overloads are selling us the rope to hang our selves with.
"BYD's 5-Minute EV Fast Charging: We Tried It. It's A Game-Changer"
FR: Never Accept the Premise of Your Opponent’s Argument
Given all the illegal aliens in California trying to stay cool this summer, fast charging EV batteries will only make California's poorly planned. overloaded power grid an even bigger problem.
With Its Power Grid On The Verge Of Failure, California Begs Residents To Change Their EV Charging Routines (6.23.21)
I understand that California now cannot find buyers for excess solar power, peak power availability possibly not same time as peak usage, insight welcome. Again, “one size fits all” elite desperate Democratic poor planning.
A frank assessment. Unlike China, became a leader at great loss of freedom, and as the Soviets shows, a nation can lead in tech under totalitarian control. But the US could only have a stable social environment and be a leader with freedom insomuch its populace was controlled from within by God and conscience.
The culture of today is increasingly not.
I think what is lost on EV geeks such as the author of this article is that many people just aren’t interested in owning a battery powered device. They don’t want a rolling smart phone loaded with complex nanny state gadgetry and the obsolescence that comes along with it. A lot of folks just want a simple driver’s car that can get them from point A to point B. I see very few if any advantages to an EV. Freedom of choice should be maintained.
In the 10 years China has moved into electric vehicles, the smog pollution in 8ts cities have decreased rapidly
most homes have 100 amps at 120 volts so 12 kilowatt service. A really large home might have 200 amp service so 24 kilowatts. This mega charger is using the electricity of 50 to 100 homes. And at any given time, most homes are using less than 50 percent of the power they could potentially use. there are 150,000 gas stations in the US and each of the mega charges would cost about $5-7 million. So the cost of replacing the gas stations is almost $1 trillion. With that money why not buy everyone in the US a Corvette and a Bentley and pay for their health insurance.
Voltage Burns, Amperage Kills
Hey dumbass. When the power goes out, gas pumps don’t work either
So you’re stalking me now? Nice try, Dim
Search does not equal stalk.
You really don’t get equivalence, do you ?
4 gallons of gas has more energy then the entire battery pack of a electric Ford F-150.
4 gallons of gas.
You really want people messing with 1,000 volts? How about when you want to fix the ‘engine’ you need expensive gloves that cost hundreds and a meter that can take the voltage. You can take it to a local shop and be charged an expensive price anywhere from say a new set of tires to a new battery to being told the cost exceeds the value of the vehicle. Tesla building cars that are disposable. Elon Musk has the money but everyone else cannot buy a new vehicle. Electric cars just go hummm and are boring.
We have plenty of oil to make gasoline. No need for a fire hazard and once on fire something that is very hazardous to everyone who breathes in a whiff of the smoke that will liquefy your lungs to the batteries flying like missiles embedding into vehicles and homes and business’s and YOU to fires that keep reigniting for weeks afterward.
The link to the Australian MGUY video says that if a second and a third etc car shows up to be charged then the amount of time increases as the electricity is reduced for each vehicle charging.
I have owned and driven no fewer than 8 vehicles that didn’t have a 250 ish mile total range none were over 300 with a full thank of petrol. Some were lucky to get to 200 in the city with the AC on.
69 F100
79 K5 Blazer
84 RX7
85 Jaguar XJ12 Vanden Plas
85 Jeep Wagoneer
86 Land Rover Defender (170mi range at best the worst of the group)
91 Blazer
97 Ford Explorer
Its irrelevant once you get to 5 min refuel times your bladder is then the limit. 250 miles at a real world average of 65mph is 3 hours 50 min in the seat.
At no time have I ever gotten better than 65 mph average moving speed let alone total average speed between any Texas city door to door even leaving at 3 am. Construction gets you then. On a recent trip to Biloxi my total avg speed excluding food stops was 62mph via Google MyTracks with analytical level stats on a rolling basis and total over multiple trip legs.
My current model 3 tests the limits of my bladder with it’s 375 mile range it gets a 15 min supercharge at 3 hour intervals to take it from 30% to 80% during which is just enough time to grab a BBQ sandwich or Cajun meat and three plate to go and a beer plus drain the main vein. Thats with 250kw supercharger rates , it would be four times faster at megawatt rates the V4 Tesla supercharger rates cover in its standard 1000 amps at 1000V there is no American can that can take those rates but the V4 was tested and got it’s cert for it. 500kw V4s are already being fielded for the Cybertruck and Tesla Semi sized packs.
BYD has impressive tech, those blade pack is the only one which can take the steel spike test. The Blade LFP pack won’t burn it’s internally suppressed and LFP via chemistry don’t have high flammable electrolytes.
Here is the actual live footage of the spike test it doesn’t exceed the temp needed to light paper let alone liquid electrolyte.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CSGESKhtZD0
“Whatever. The electricity is still generated by oil, coal and natural gas power plants”
Virtually nowhere in the lower 48 is fuel oil burnt for electricity and the whole USA including Alaska is only 0.8% fuel oil. Coal is only 16% , gas is 43% , nukes 18% and (wind,hydro,solar) in that order are 21%
I see Texas in your name. Then you would know that Texas routinely gets 60-70% of all our ERCOT grid output from wind and solar especially at noon and around midnight to 4 am. Peak sun and peak overnight howling West Texas winds.
At noon yesterday ERCOT and therefore Texas was 51% solar, 20% gas, 12% wind, 8% nukes, 8% coal. This is typical solar levels, wind was lower than usual yesterday usually it’s in the @15,000-25000 megawatts in the evenings and overnights.
Here is the free access level, I get professional access being in the industry.
https://www.ercot.com/gridmktinfo/dashboards
“The only reason I’m considering an EV for my next car is Tesla’s Full Self-Driving. The technology is fascinating, and when I’m ready for my next car in a couple of years, FSD should be far better than it is today, which is already damn good.”
You will love FSD in gridlock traffic and on road trips it’s the reason I got a Model 3 and loved it so much a Model Y followed it to the stable of vehicles. I have a F250, Expedition, and until a few months ago a S60 T5 AWD. The Volvo just sat there once the Model 3 outclassed it in every way possible, including being ten times cheaper by the mile to fuel.
People who have never ridden in FSD talking out their backsides about DUI , it would be virtually impossible to get a DUI if you let the FSD drive you home. It gives no probable cause for a stop at all. I know high end lawyers who own Tesla model S specifically to use FSD to not get DUI and risk being disbarred. In fact all of my lawyers have Tesla come to think of it all five of them. We all know each other from Tech Law.
Don’t hesitate to get FSD it is phenomenal, I routinely take it from my long drive to Shreveport nearly door to door it askes for hands at exit 19 in Shreveport at the curve and split with a light at the bottom of it then will go hands free to the right turn into the casino. Having been hands free from the left turn out of my drive. It askes for help at the four way stop before the right turn onto the US hwy south from then on it’s FSD to exit 19. Going to Houston it will go hands free all the way to the supercharger at the bucees North or Houston and then all the way to the exit at the Omni in the energy corridor no matter how bad the biblical level gridlock is in HTown. <<<This is the way. It just follows the flow of traffic like a champ.
As always hatters gonna hate it’s their small lives they are lashing out at, live your best life forget hatters. We won’t get it here but having ridden in BYD in China they blow away FSD it never askes for help and obviously their blade battery tech is far superior, I wish Elon would just pay the royalties and bring the LFP blade packs to the USA , Tesla China already uses CATL cells put those in blade packs and be done with it.
That is not exactly how it works if you have enough power being supplied to the charging station. Let's say there are 10 1MW charging ports. You don't need 10MW power input to meet full power demand since the battery can only accept the 1MW rate for about 40 seconds if the battery level is the sweet spot. After that the charge rate drops off considerably as time progresses. In order to handle full capacity for the station a 5 MW power source is likely all that would be needed, maybe a bit less. If you only have a 2 MW pipe, then it wouldn't be able to handle the full capacity charging rates.
It seems to me since they are made in China, there may be some yet unexplored hazards. With the kind of voltage they are using, you would need the appropriate home charger, especially here where I live. I think we might have one charger in the whole town as we have a couple Teslas running around & that’s about all. With thee higher voltage, I wonder if that doesn’t increase the fire hazrd possibility also. I will pass;someone else can take the chances. I would be happy if there were no more EVs until somebobody can solve ALL the inherent problems.
Seems to me that would be a call better unanswered. I can think of a few extra hazards that would/could go with this.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.