As the CN EV Post portal writes, a BYD manager spoke to Chinese media company CGTN about the next generation of the Blade battery: “I think in the coming years, 2025, BYD will introduce the new generation of our remarkable blade battery,” Cao Shuang, the managing director of BYD Central Asia in European Auto Sales Division, said. “This will enhance the driving distance of our vehicles and also extend the life cycle of the battery itself.”
Shuang did not provide any further details. The launch of the next generation of BYD’s Blade battery has been expected for some time. Rumours last emerged in spring that it could be launched as early as August 2024 – but that did not happen.
The Blade battery, first introduced in 2020, is an in-house development by BYD. The name refers to the unusual format: the cells are very long and thus resemble the blade of a sword. The elongated cells are installed in the battery packs at right angles to the direction of travel. There are different variants; BYD uses both cell-to-pack and cell-to-body versions of its battery packs in its own electric cars. What they all have in common is the lithium iron phosphate cell chemistry.
BYD has not changed the technology in recent years, which is why the second generation is eagerly awaited. At the same time, BYD is said to be working on an unspecified “6C battery.” The “C” is an indicator of the ratio of battery size to charging capacity. At 1C, an 80 kWh battery can be charged with a maximum of 80 kW. At 6C, the same battery can theoretically be charged with six times the charging power – i.e. up to 480 kW. However, this is just one example; it is not yet known how much energy content the future BYD battery will have and what cell chemistry it will be equipped with.
What is clear is that the improved blade battery will once again be an LFP battery. Rumours indicate that it will be used in the U7 sedan of BYD’s luxury sub-brand Yangwang, among others.