BYD is on the way with both more powerful chargers and electric cars on a 1,000-volt architecture. But the electricity grid in Denmark cannot handle that, FDM believes.
Chinese BYD is well on its way to electric cars with a 1,000-volt architecture. But the electricity grid in Denmark is not geared for that at all.
This is what consumer economist at FDM Ilyas Dogru writes on LinkedIn .
– With a charging rate of 10C – i.e. the battery's ability to charge 10 times its capacity per hour – we are approaching a scenario where charging can be as fast as filling up with gas, writes the consumer economist.
But it also presents its own challenges. And this is especially true for the electricity grid in Denmark. Even though the electricity grid in this country is quite robust.
– But before we fall off our chairs with excitement, we must also look at the other part of the equation: the electricity grid.
Denmark's electricity grid cannot handle new and much faster electric cars
– Because it requires major investments if many electric cars are to draw so much from the electricity grid. That is also why BYD mentions energy storage as a necessity if it is to succeed.
And although the Danish electricity grid, according to Ilyas Dogru, is doing better than, for example, the Dutch one, which is under much more pressure, Denmark should not expect that an upgrade to BYD specifications will be free. Far from it, in fact.
According to the consumer economist, it will cost 2.5 million kroner just to set up the charging station. And that's for hardware, charging losses and operating costs.
BYD is unlikely to be stopped by Danish concerns. According to the Chinese, the technology means that their upcoming electric cars will charge just as quickly as you can already fill up a gasoline car.
Specifically, the Chinese say that the new electric cars will be able to draw enough power for 400 kilometers in 5 minutes from a charging socket. Whether this is actually true, the group has yet to prove.
