BYD: On Par with Tesla? Enabling Large Cylindrical Batteries

The “BYD Purchasing and Supply Management” public account recently issued a recruitment announcement, revealing its plans to openly recruit suppliers for fully automatic baking line equipment dedicated to large cylindrical batteries in 2023. The recruitment period runs from July 18, 2023, to August 1, 2023. The sought-after product equipment is a fully automatic contact high-vacuum baking line, primarily used for baking batteries before the liquid injection process in large cylindrical batteries. This development indicates significant progress in BYD’s large cylindrical battery business.

Additionally, last year, BYD’s related patent application for a regular hexagonal prism cell surfaced, hinting at potential modifications to a large cylindrical battery with a lithium iron phosphate chemical system.

It’s worth noting that major car manufacturers like Tesla and BMW have shown strong interest in adopting large cylindrical batteries. Reports indicate that domestic lithium battery manufacturer Yiwei Lithium Energy will supply large cylindrical batteries for BMW’s electric vehicles in Europe, with plans to become the main battery supplier for BMW’s upcoming series of electric vehicles in Europe by 2025.

As the global demand for large cylindrical power batteries is expected to exceed 150GWh by 2025, various domestic power battery manufacturers, including Ningde Times, BAK Battery, Envision Power, and Zhongxinhang, have significantly increased their investment in this technology.

With BYD’s pursuit of large cylindrical batteries, the automotive battery market is witnessing exciting advancements. Will BYD successfully integrate large cylindrical batteries into their products, potentially surpassing their revolutionary blade battery?