Geely has revealed it’s striking a blow against BYD in the battle to reduce EV charging times with the introduction of new technology it claims can fill a battery in just four minutes using a system capable of delivering 2.2 megawatts of power.

That figure is an increase of more than 50 per cent over BYD’s vaunted 1.5MW Flash Charging 2.0 system and rivals the output of some massive systems designed for electric commercial trucks – like Tesla’s 1.2MW Megacharger stations.

Rear of a light blue SUV driving on a bridge at golden hour, with steel arches and overhead cables in the background.
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Geely made the reveal in a social media post ahead of the official announcement of the new tech on September 23 at its facility in Ningbo, China. Translated, it reads: “Charge in four minutes, drive with peace of mind. Global launch of Geely’s next-generation AI smart charging technology.”

The reveal leaves some important questions unanswered, however – especially what starting and ending battery percentages are covered by that four-minute charge. Most EV manufacturers recommend charging from roughly 20 to 80 per cent, and until Geely reveals that information, it is difficult to make comparisons with its rivals.

However, a four-minute charge, even if it’s not the full 20 to 80 per cent, reduces the top-up time for electric vehicles to about what you’d expect from filling an internal-combustion vehicle at the bowser.

It has also been reported that Geely’s charging system can deliver around 3500 charge/discharge cycles with limited battery degradation. That could come as a result of the AI aspect of the tech delivering improved algorithms to guard against damage.

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BYD began rolling out its 1500kW charging stations in China early this year. Videos showed the system and the company’s Super e-Platform architecture combining to add two kilometres of range every second. 

CarNewsChina reported that displayed pricing at the demonstration site was 1.3 yuan per kWh, equalling approximately A27 cents per kWh. Buyers of compatible flash-charge vehicles are reportedly eligible for 1000 kWh of free electricity annually, too. BYD is also reportedly targeting over 4000 locations for the installation of the new 1500kW chargers.