BYD has launched the Blade Battery, a development set to mitigate concerns about battery safety in electric vehicles (EVs).
The Blade Battery has been developed by BYD over the past several years. The singular cells are arranged together in an array and then inserted into a battery pack. Due to its optimized battery pack structure, the space utilization of the battery pack is increased by over 50% compared to conventional lithium iron phosphate block batteries.
In the past few years, many EV manufacturers have been competing for greater cruising range. When the range becomes the prime factor to consider, this focus is then transferred to power battery makers, leading to unreasonable pursuits of “energy density” in the battery industry. It is due to this unpractical focus on “energy density” that safety has been sidelined from power battery development. The Blade Battery aims to bring battery safety back to the forefront, notes the company.
“Today, many vehicle brands are in discussion with us about partnerships based on the technology of the Blade Battery,” says He Long, vice president of BYD.
“BYD will gladly share and work with global partners to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes for all industry players,” he adds.
While undergoing nail penetration tests, the Blade Battery emitted neither smoke nor fire after being penetrated, and its surface temperature only reached 30 to 60°C. Under the same conditions, a ternary lithium battery exceeded 500°C and violently burned, and while a conventional lithium iron phosphate block battery did not openly emit flames or smoke, its surface temperature reached dangerous temperatures of 200 to 400°C. This implies that EVs equipped with the Blade Battery would be far less susceptible to catching fire – even when they are severely damaged.
The Blade Battery also passed other extreme test conditions, such as being crushed, bent, heated in a furnace to 300°C and overcharged by 260%. None of these resulted in a fire or explosion.
The Han EV, BYD’s sedan model slated for launch this June, will come equipped with the Blade Battery. The new model will lead the brand’s Dynasty Family, boasting a cruising range of 605 km and an acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds.
Photo: BYD’s Blade Battery
