BYD will introduce the next-generation of its blade batteries in 2025, according to a brand executive.
Speaking to Chinese state media at the COP 29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, Cao Shuang, Managing Director of BYD’s Central Asian and European sales division, said the new range of batteries would deliver better driving range performance.
“I think in the coming years, 2025, BYD will introduce the new generation of our remarkable blade battery,” he said.
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“This will enhance the driving distance of our vehicles, and also extend the life cycle of the battery itself.”
Cao said BYD is looking at how batteries can be used for different applications, such as energy storage, once they’re no longer fit for purpose on an electric vehicle.
Details on the new line of batteries remains scarce, but it is likely that BYD’s new generation of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries will boast greater energy density, meaning the brand will be able to deliver more range through a smaller sized battery.
BYD CEO and Founder Wang Chaunfu previously teased the new line of Blade batteries in April, with the brand claiming the new batteries would deliver 1000km of range, albeit on the more lenient CLTC test cycle.
Reports at the time suggested battery capacity could be 30 per cent greater than current Blade batteries.
If true, that would see the range of BYD’s longest-range model in Australia, the BYD Seal Premium, grow from 570km on the WLTP test cycle to circa 740km.
Like the rest of BYD’s models sold in Australia, the Seal uses Blade technology, which was first introduced in 2020 under its battery manufacturing subsidiary FinDreams.
BYD claims Blade batteries are distinct from other batteries used in rival EVs as they use lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) as the cathode material, which it argues offers increased levels of durability and safety over conventional nickel manganese cobalt batteries.
The Blade moniker comes from the shape of the battery cells, which are longer, skinnier and arranged in rows, unlike conventional square-block batteries.
Despite its huge sales success, BYD have been relatively quiet on the battery front this year, particularly when compared to Chinese battery-manufacturing rival CATL, which has released a suite of new battery technologies for 2024.
That includes the Shenxing Plus EV battery and Freevoy plug-in hybrid battery, batteries which offer claimed ranges of 1000km and 400km, respectively.
Tesla, meanwhile, has four new batteries in development, purportedly for its Cybertruck, its incoming Robotaxi and other new models scheduled to arrive by 2026.
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