Matthias Speicher

⚡ BYD’s newest tech can charge an EV to 97 percent in under 10 minutes. The reaction almost everywhere is excitement. Mine is rather mixed. I think we’re solving the wrong problem, just faster.

🔋 There are situations where 1500 kW is exactly right. No depot, no home charger, no alternative, long journey, no need for a break. For that driver, minimising active charging time is a real win. And yes, it’s an awesome piece of technology. But it’s not the universal answer the media loves to make it out to be.

🏡 Someone with a home wallbox, maybe solar on the roof, is not giving that up to stand at an ultra-fast charger, not even for five minutes. Especially if this means a detour instead of chilling on the couch at home. Their car charges alongside life and they don’t even notice it.

📣 The problem isn’t the technology but the way we put the story around it. 1500 kW flash charging is being sold as the answer to everything. It’s the answer to one specific use case.

🔨 Because what happens if we make flash charging the standard? Charging becomes an active task again. The detour comes back into everyday life. I drive specifically to one of these stations, plug in, wait, drive on. If you have to, it’s brilliant being that fast. But it remains petrol station logic with electricity. And at a typical motorway stop, nine minutes to 97 percent is barely enough time to use the toilet, let alone eat something.

🏃So charge first, move your car and then finally take that break. Like with petrol. Or block the spot, which will cost accordingly as these chargers need heavy throughput to be viable. And there’s no headroom left to top up further since you’re already at 97 instead of the usual 80 percent. They will make sure you move your car out of the way.

🚗 As of now only certain vehicles can even use it. The majority of EVs today still charge at under 100 kW on average from 10 to 80 percent, with peak rates often below 200 kW, 800V systems aside. They do not benefit in any way from those new chargers as they need the according battery technology. Quite logic but often forgotten in the media.

🦾 The mix of charging options and their availability for everyone is and remains the key. Just as ever larger batteries alone don’t solve range anxiety, 1500 kW charging alone doesn’t solve the charge anxiety.