March 6, 2026
Chinese automaker BYD has introduced a second-generation version of its Blade Battery, claiming electric vehicles equipped with the new cells can charge from 10 to 70 per cent in about five minutes. The update focuses on ultra-fast charging and higher pack efficiency, positioning the battery as a key component in BYD’s broader push to expand EV adoption.
The Blade Battery, first introduced in 2020, is BYD’s in-house lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery platform. Known for its long, prismatic cell design, the battery is used across BYD’s product lineup, from compact vehicles such as the Dolphin Surf to large electric buses.
In the second generation, BYD has reconfigured how the cells are arranged inside the battery pack. While earlier versions placed the cells across the vehicle’s width, the new design installs them longitudinally. The cells appear visually divided into six groups but are not arranged into traditional modules, suggesting BYD is maintaining its cell-to-pack or cell-to-body architecture to improve overall energy density.
BYD says energy density at the cell level has increased by more than five per cent and that the new battery retains capacity longer. The company is also introducing a lifetime warranty for the cells.
Safety remains a central focus of the design. According to BYD, the battery passed a nail penetration test without smoke or flames even after more than 500 fast-charging cycles and while charging was still in progress. The pack is also said to withstand a simultaneous short circuit across four cells and survive an impact test at ten times the force required under new Chinese standards. These claims were presented during the product unveiling and have not yet been independently verified.
The most prominent feature, however, is charging speed. BYD says vehicles using the battery can charge from 10 to 70 per cent in roughly five minutes, with demonstration figures ranging from 4:54 minutes to 5:11 minutes depending on the model. Charging from 10 to 97 per cent is reported to take about nine minutes.
The company plans to introduce the battery across ten upcoming electric vehicles, including the Denza Z9 GT, which BYD says will offer a CLTC range of 1,036 kilometres.
To support the fast-charging capability, BYD also unveiled a new generation of Flash Chargers capable of delivering up to 1,500 kilowatts of charging power. The company says it has already completed 4,239 of these stations in the first two months of 2026 and plans to install 20,000 this year.
