BYD has demonstrated its 1,500kW FLASH Charging technology in the UK for the first time, promising to roll out up to 300 chargers across the country.
The demonstration took place at BYD’s UK headquarters in Uxbridge, where invited guests were shown the system charging the DENZA Z9 GT – the first vehicle in the UK that is capable of accepting the company’s FLASH Charging speeds.
According to BYD, the technology can deliver up to 1,500kW through a single connector when paired with its second-generation Blade Battery. That allows the company to claim what it calls the principle of ‘Ready in 5, Full in 9, Cold Add 3’.
In practice, that means the battery can be charged from 5% to 70% in five minutes, from 10% to 97% in nine minutes, and from 20% to 97% in 12 minutes at -30°C. Based on the DENZA Z9 GT’s WLTP combined range of 372 miles, BYD says a five-minute charge could add 223 miles of range, while a nine-minute charge could add 323 miles.
Those are the kind of figures that make even the fastest existing UK public chargers look rather ordinary. As we covered when BYD first unveiled its 1,500kW platform, the charger is only part of the story – vehicles also need to be capable of taking that level of power. With the DENZA Z9 GT, BYD is hoping to show that this is no longer simply a theoretical exercise.
Solving the grid problem?
The more interesting part of BYD’s UK debut may not be the charging speed itself, but how the company plans to make the technology workable on the UK grid.
Ultra-fast charging has long faced an obvious problem in Britain: getting enough power to the right sites. Grid connections are already a major barrier for charge point operators, and asking for significantly more capacity is unlikely to make that process any easier.
BYD says FLASH Charging gets around this by using on-site battery storage, which is topped up gradually throughout the day. According to the company, the storage system can be charged from as little as 100kW, or as much as 560kW depending on demand, before delivering much higher charging power to vehicles when required.
That will be key to the company’s planned rollout. BYD says 300 chargers are due to be installed at DENZA stores and other locations by the end of 2026.
The design of the charger has also been given some thought. The T-shaped unit houses two cables, each suspended vertically on a rail. BYD says this should make it easier to connect to vehicles regardless of where the charge port is located, while also preventing cables from being dragged across the ground.
BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li was present for the demonstration. “The first demonstration of FLASH Charging in the UK is another significant landmark for the technology,” Li said.
“FLASH Charging’s ability to make our second generation Blade Battery ready in five minutes, full in nine minutes, and to add just three minutes in cold weather sets a new standard for the future of premium mobility. Our DENZA brand is driven by technology that inspires, and witnessing FLASH Charging today, as shown by the Z9 GT, is truly inspirational.”
