BYD 1000 kW Leap: The Fastest EV Charging System Yet?

The Electric Vehicle (EV) industry was recently, well, shocked at news of BYD’s latest innovation of a MW sized charging. Generally, depending on its capacity, it takes anywhere between 20 minutes to 8 hours to charge up the battery of an EV. However, the Chinese automaker BYD announcement of its latest blade battery – flash charging battery has shaken up things by claiming to place EVs at par with ICE vehicles in terms of charging or ‘refueling’. The latest innovation offers a charging power of 1 MW, substantially bringing down the charging times for electric passenger cars. 

With this feat, the ultra-fast EV charging system – dubbed the Megawatt Flash Charger is now the fastest charging platform on the market.

BYD’s Flash Charging Against the Rest

As per BYD, the superfast charging employs an all liquid-cooled megawatt flash-charging terminal system, and a new, automotive-grade silicon carbide power chip. This allows the vehicle to channel up to 1,000 volts of charge. Faster charging is directly dependent on higher voltage and sufficient amperage. 

The connectors need to handle up to 1000 A of current without overheating​. Thus, BYD adopted a dual charging “gun” approach: the vehicles have two DC charging ports so they can take in ~500 kW from each cable simultaneously, rather than pushing 1000 A through one cable​. 

Even the popular EVs like Tesla Model 3 use 400-volt setups, which are cheaper. However, the 800-volt models are now being increasingly getting attention with one upcoming Lucid Gravity product offering a 926-volt powertrain. In China alone there are eight models that offer charging speeds of 500 kW and above, the fastest being Zeekr’s 009 offering a max power of 560 kW. The US-based Tesla offers the peak power of 500 kW with its latest V4 supercharger. 

The latest 1000 kW BYD product surpasses them all, offering 400 kilometers in just 5 minutes, that is adding 2 kilometers range every second! This is a huge feat even for the Chinese considering that about 90 percent of all the vehicles sold in China in 2024 had max DC charging speeds of under 200 kW. 

Crucial Battery Support

At the heart of BYD’s 1 MW charging capability is its Flash Charging Battery, a new iteration of the BYD Blade battery engineered for extreme charge rates. To achieve a charging power of 1 MW, the vehicle needs to use this latest blade battery. 

The latest battery used in BYD EVs is offering a 10 C charging rate, currently the highest for mass-produced power batteries in the world. Theoretically, it means that a passenger car battery can be fully charged within 5-6 minutes.

Charging Station Architecture and Grid Interaction

Delivering 1 MW to a vehicle is not just a challenge for the car; it also stresses the electrical infrastructure. BYD’s solution is an integrated charging station architecture with energy storage to buffer the grid and ensure reliable peak power delivery. 

In simpler terms, the battery energy storage system (BESS) does its traditional job by storing energy which can be rapidly fed to vehicles during a charging session. Further, By decoupling the peak charger output from the grid supply, the station can provide full 1000 kW bursts even in areas where the grid couldn’t normally supply that power directly​.

The energy storage system acts as a high-power buffer or “booster,” smoothing out the load. For example, the station might draw only a few hundred kW from the grid continuously, while its battery covers the difference to reach 1 MW when a car is charging.

The high-power DC converters/inverters (often in large cabinets) manage power flow between the grid, the station battery, and the vehicle. Smart energy management systems ensure that the station’s battery can also provide services to the grid if needed. 

Further, the architecture helps in reducing peak load on the grid without the need of expensive grid upgrades at each site. Instead of a sudden 1 MW spike when a vehicle plugs in, the grid sees a steadier, lower draw as the station battery handles the surge. This peak shaving protects local transformers and distribution lines from overload. 

This further helps in faster deployment of new stations to even the locations with limited grid capacity that would otherwise be unsuitable for megawatt chargers.

What Does it Mean for the Industry?

The EV charging industry is on a continuous evolutionary phase with charging speeds getting faster each year. As per one database, the sales weighted average charging speed has increased 63 percent over the last 5 years, as manufacturers each year have released vehicles that have faster peak DC charging speeds. 

Since there was an existing demand for reduced charging times, addressing charging waiting time anxiety associated with the electric passenger cars, it was only a matter of time before this milestone would be achieved. 

This new convenience boost could make EVs, particularly cars, more appealing to skeptical consumers and set the stage for wider adoption. The integration of on-site storage is the most notable of all.

BYD’s stations can maintain high power output consistently. Even if multiple cars arrive in sequence, the buffer battery helps ensure each can get a high-power charge. Notably, BYD  plans to deploy 4,000 stations across China​, reducing the chance of crowding.

Others in 1-MW Race

BYD’s latest innovation is a much needed phase of battery evolution. Yet, this is not the first and the only company to explore the possibilities. Several firms have been venturing the idea of charging infrastructures to the tune of 1 MW fast charging. 

Mercedes-Benz Trucks, for example, completed the first successful test of 1,000 kW (one megawatt) fast charging last year, using its Megawatt Charging System (MCS) standard. Similarly, the UK-based company Voltempo is leading the eFREIGHT 2030 initiative, aiming to establish the UK’s largest HGV-only EV charging network with 1-megawatt (MW) capacity, providing national coverage by early 2026.

Thus, super fast charging isn’t new. Megawatt charging systems that can deliver up to 1,250 volts have been in development for nearly a decade. Though developers have mostly been focused on the rapid charging of heavy-duty commercial vehicles like electric semi trucks and buses. 

Most superfast charging efforts have focused on these sorts of vehicles for two reasons: They have much bigger battery packs; and they’re mostly operated by businesses and governments in fleets, so the moments they spend charging are moments they’re not transporting people or goods. This makes depot builders more willing to shell out the extra funding needed to get supercharging capabilities.

To use it for passenger cars is something not much talked about until now. Thus, BYD’s efforts are momentous also because this time it will be passenger cars being charged at ultra-fast rates. In fact, the Han L sedan and Tang L SUV (sport utility vehicle) are expected to exploit the technology. 

Battery Integrated Charging Infra: the India Update

Although India’s EV charging technology is not yet on par with global leaders, the industry is evolving rapidly. Companies are exploring advanced solutions, and ultra-fast EV charging may soon become mainstream – if not already here. Exicom is pioneering the similar technology in India.

From a technological integration point of view, Bengaluru-based Exicom is also integrating energy storage into its EV charging infrastructure. Exicom unveiled Harmony Boost, a BESS-integrated EV charging solution, at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025. Though, the charging solution delivers fast charging of up to 400 kW per plug instead of 1000 kW of BYD. The working mechanism of the Exicom is similar to what BYD is offering, disrupting the tight EV charging market. 

The company and its “Indian” breakthrough technology is getting the due attention it deserves. In January this year, the Gurugram-based EV charging solution provider tied up with ChargeZone to develop and deploy 500 plus high-power Harmony Boost EV Charging Stations including those integrated with renewable energy. 

It also partnered with IONAGE, EV charging software platform provider, aiming to build a neutral, unified, and accessible EV charging ecosystem. As part of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Exicom’s extensive EV charging network, 1.75 lakh chargers, will integrate with IONAGE’s CMS platform, offering a seamless CMS integration option for various charging networks in the country.