China has opened a new battlefront, not a literal battle, of course, but one for the future of the electric car. BYD, CATL and Huawei are not competing to see who sells more electric cars, but for something more strategic: who controls the recharging. These three Chinese giants have presented technologies that promise to charge 400 kilometres in just five minutes, not even the iPhone’s fast charge can do that. If this becomes a reality on a large scale, it could completely change the rules of the game. Because in the world of electric cars, whoever dominates the plug, dominates the game.
BYD breaks the ice: 400 km in five minutes
It all started with BYD in March. They presented a system that promises to add 400 km of range in five minutes. Almost the same time it takes to fill a gas tank. They achieved it thanks to their own chargers that reach a brutal power of 1,360 kW. But the most interesting part was not the number, but the strategy: BYD also announced its own network with 4,000 charging stations. They don’t want to depend on anyone. They make the car, the battery, and now they also control the energy. Everything stays in-house.
CATL doesn’t fall behind: 520 km and batteries that don’t freeze
Just a few weeks after BYD’s announcement, CATL (the largest battery manufacturer in the world) was forced to respond with an even bigger presentation. At their Tech Day they announced several updates, the first being that they already had a sodium battery that promised to reduce the cost of electric vehicles… and also the crown jewel: a new battery that charges 520 km in five minutes (that’s over 2.5 kilometres of range per second compared to BYD’s (do you now understand why we’re calling this a war?).
And they didn’t stop there. They also showed a battery that works without issues at -10°C and can go from 5% to 80% charge in just 15 minutes. The charging power? 830 kW. Not bad for a market that is still processing the 300 kW!
Huawei raises the stakes
And in case someone was missing, Huawei appeared to raise the tension even more. Their new charger reaches 1.5 MW of power and delivers 20 kWh per minute. Translation? About 500 km in five minutes. But what is most striking is its operating range: from -30°C to 60°C, meaning it works perfectly in more than extreme temperatures.
Who will win this competition?
Still today, although no car can yet take advantage of that power, this is much more than a show of strength. It’s a promise. A statement of intent. Manufacturers want users to see that they are ready for what’s coming. That their brand is betting on the newest technology, even if it’s not yet within everyone’s reach.
Are there any downsides?
Let’s keep in mind that the current vehicles that charge the fastest do so between 250 and 300 kW, there are no vehicles capable of withstanding the power we mentioned above, so we would have to see if these levels of charging are realistic, and especially, if they are practical, because this type of battery will need a lot of cooling, and maybe current cars are not ready for that (yet). Would we be talking about a new fleet of personal vehicles capable of handling these batteries?