One of the world’s largest car manufacturers, BYD, held a conference for media and partners in Zagreb where it officially presented one of the first FLASH Charging charging stations in Europe. This technology, which allows electric vehicles to be charged with extreme power of up to 1,500 kW, is designed to eliminate remaining barriers to the widespread adoption of electric mobility.
Only the second filling station of this type on the European continent is located at the location of BYD’s service partner at Samoborska cesta 119 G. In addition to the technological demonstration of the filling station, a model was also presented at the event premium class DENZA Z9GT, on which the possibility of ultra-fast charging was demonstrated.
Revolutionary battery
BYD’s new technology directly addresses the main challenges electric vehicle drivers face, such as range anxiety, long waiting times and infrastructure limitations. The demonstrated system enables a filling speed which, in terms of time consumption, is comparable to classic fuel filling, which drastically shortens the time spent at filling stations. For example, charging the battery from 10 to 70 percent capacity takes only five minutes, while the new generation of BYD’s Blade battery 2.0 can be charged from 10 to 97 percent in just nine minutes.
A key element of this advancement is the second-generation Blade battery, which uses advanced chemistry with fast lithium-ion channels that significantly reduce heat generation. A battery pack of this type supports a charging rate of 10C, which means that a 100 kWh capacity pack can safely accept as much as 1,000 kW of charging power. The system is equipped with built-in heating and cooling that maintain the ideal temperature, so even at extremely low temperatures of -30 °C charging from 20 to 97 percent takes only 12 minutes, adding only three minutes to the standard time. Laboratory puncture tests have shown that the Blade battery does not cause a fire or explosion in the event of severe damage, thereby additionally guaranteeing a high level of safety.
“These technologies were developed to respond to the real needs of users. Vehicle range and charging speed are particularly important to electric vehicle buyers, and FLASH Charging technology brings significant improvement in both areas,” he said. David Kusanicdeputy regional director for Croatia and Slovenia at BYD. He pointed out that the arrival of this infrastructure in Croatia is a key step for a faster transition and development of electric mobility in the region.
Easy handling of the cable
The physical design of the charger itself brings a T-shape with a so-called “zero-gravity” cable that carries its own weight, so handling it is extremely easy. The cables are raised from the ground, which protects them from dirt and weather, and “Plug-and-Charge” simplicity is enabled for owners of BYD and Denza vehicles – authentication is performed by the vehicle itself without the need for applications or RFID cards.
In order to bypass the limitations of the European power grid, the filling stations use a modest network connection of 100 to 400 kW, but are “reinforced” with integrated energy storage systems. These internal batteries accumulate energy and then deliver it to the vehicle with a power of up to 1.5 megawatts, preventing the load on the local network.
A record in Zagreb
Thanks to favorable conditions and warm weather, the DENZA Z9GT model that was waiting for us at the filling station filled up before our eyes in record time. In a time that usually doesn’t take you long to drink a coffee, the car is charged from 10% to 97% capacity in a record 8 minutes and 53 seconds – three seconds faster than ever anywhere before.
During charging, we could witness that it proceeds linearly, i.e. there is no slowdown up to 90% of capacity – more than a megawatt of power is delivered to the battery continuously and without making noise (all that was heard were the vehicle’s radiators). During a live demonstration, the system was adding approximately 100 kilometers of range per minute in the initial stages. The level of 50% battery charge (300 km range) was reached in 3 minutes and 20 seconds, while 70% was reached in 5 minutes and 50 seconds. The limit of 80% capacity, which represents almost 500 kilometers of range, was achieved in 6 minutes and 20 seconds.
Ambitious plans
The presentation in Zagreb is part of BYD’s global strategy for the development of ultra-fast infrastructure. The company plans a very ambitious expansion to as many as 3,000 FLASH Charging locations in Europe by the end of this year, with the goal of installing stations every 80 kilometers in all major European countries. By the end of 2027, the wider network should include 15,000 charging stations, which will eventually be opened for all other car brands that use standard CCS2 connections.
At the local level, negotiations are underway with partners to overcome any remaining obstacles and to install a significant number of stations along Croatian and Slovenian highways and cities. In parallel, the sales and service network is expanding in eight locations, including Zagreb, Split, Osijek, Zadar, Dvor, Pula, Varaždin and Rijeka. In addition, the official launch of the DENZA Z9GT model on the Croatian market is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.