Flash charging and battery swapping: The hidden battle for energy replenishment in new energy vehicles
The debate over the energy replenishment routes for new energy vehicles has reignited.
In March 2026, BYD officially launched its second - generation Blade Battery and megawatt - level flash charging technology, pushing the energy replenishment efficiency of new energy vehicles to an unprecedented new height. This technology has achieved an extreme energy replenishment speed of 70% charge in 5 minutes and 97% charge in 9 minutes. Even in an extremely low - temperature environment of minus 30°C, the charging time is only 3 minutes longer than at room temperature. "Charging as fast as refueling" is becoming a tangible reality.
Subsequently, Li Bin, the founder, chairman, and CEO of NIO, when invited to the CCTV Financial Channel's program "Dialogue·Innovative China Tour", said, "No matter how fast the ultra - fast charging is, it can't be as fast as battery swapping." He also put forward a controversial view: Frequent use of ultra - fast charging may have an impact on battery life and safety. "From the perspective of battery health, slow charging is better than fast charging if possible."
As soon as Li Bin's remarks were made, they once again triggered heated discussions and debates about the energy replenishment routes for new energy vehicles. In response, Li Yunfei, the general manager of BYD's brand and public relations department, responded on Weibo, saying, "Although battery swapping and flash charging are two different models, they are both good. They are a flourishing scene and lead to the same goal by different routes."
In the more than ten years since Tesla built its first Supercharger station in China in 2014, the layout of the battery swapping station network has been continuously expanded, and the charging efficiency of fast - charging technology has continued to break through. However, the energy replenishment anxiety of new energy vehicle users has never been completely resolved. When the megawatt - level flash charging technology shortens the charging time to single digits, will it completely end the battery swapping mode? Which of the two energy replenishment routes, charging and battery swapping, will dominate the future?
01 Breakthroughs and Challenges of Megawatt Flash Charging
The reason why BYD's second - generation Blade Battery and megawatt - level flash charging technology have shaken the industry is mainly that they have achieved simultaneous breakthroughs in three dimensions: "charging speed, energy density, and safety performance". They have not only solved the industry pain point of "incompatibility between flash charging and high energy density" but also successfully overcome the worldwide problem of difficult charging at low temperatures.
Charging speed is the primary concern for new energy vehicle users. In the past, it often took several hours to fully charge a pure - electric vehicle using a traditional slow - charging pile. Even with mainstream fast - charging technology, the charging time usually took about 30 minutes. The second - generation Blade Battery, combined with megawatt - level flash charging technology, can achieve a range of 400 kilometers with a 5 - minute charge, truly realizing "charging as fast as refueling". The leap - forward improvement in charging speed has greatly enhanced the practicality and convenience of new energy vehicles.
In addition, the second - generation Blade Battery is equipped with a "full - temperature - range intelligent thermal management system", which can work stably in an extreme environment from minus 30°C to plus 60°C. In a low - temperature environment of minus 30°C, it only takes 12 minutes to charge from 20% to 97%, completely solving the problem of low - temperature charging.
More importantly, the second - generation Blade Battery and megawatt - level flash charging technology are not just conceptual products in the laboratory but mature solutions that can be immediately mass - produced on a large scale. Wang Chuanfu, the chairman and president of BYD, clearly stated that BYD will promote the full popularization of flash charging technology. In 2026, flash charging technology will be applied to 150,000 - level models, and users will not experience a discounted energy replenishment experience due to the price of the vehicle. At the same time, the full - domain 1000V high - voltage platform will also be fully installed in multiple new models.
To promote the implementation of megawatt - level flash charging technology, BYD has simultaneously launched the "Flash Charging China" strategy. It plans to build 20,000 flash charging stations across the country by the end of 2026, including 18,000 urban "stations within stations" and 2,000 "flash charging highway stations". BYD also promised that the first batch of 1,000 "flash charging highway stations" will be put into use before the May Day holiday this year.
Although BYD's megawatt - level flash charging technology has shown strong market competitiveness, it still faces multiple practical challenges in the process of large - scale implementation.
First of all, the large - scale construction of charging stations requires a huge amount of capital investment, and it is quite difficult to implement. It is reported that a standard highway flash charging station with 8 charging positions requires a total investment of about 4.3 million yuan, and the investment pay - back period is about 3.5 years. Such a large - scale capital investment places extremely high requirements on capital reserves. Even for a leading automobile company like BYD, building 20,000 flash charging stations would require a capital investment in the tens of billions. In addition, the stable operation of flash charging stations depends on the carrying capacity of the supporting power grid. In some areas with weak power grid infrastructure, power grid upgrades and transformations are also needed, which further increases the construction cost and implementation difficulty.
Secondly, the adaptation scope of megawatt - level flash charging technology is limited and difficult to cover all vehicle models. Megawatt - level flash charging technology has extremely high adaptation requirements for vehicle hardware. Vehicles need to be equipped with a full - domain 1000V high - voltage platform, power batteries suitable for a 10C peak charging rate, and automotive - grade 1500V silicon carbide chips. This means that at present, only BYD's new flagship models can enjoy the convenience brought by this technology, while older models can only look on with envy. The limitation of technology adaptation not only directly restricts the coverage scope of megawatt - level flash charging technology but also becomes an important factor restricting its large - scale implementation.
02 The Barriers of the Battery Swapping Mode Have Not Been Broken
While BYD's megawatt - level flash charging technology is rising strongly, the battery swapping mode adhered to by NIO and CATL is also constantly being improved and upgraded.
NIO plans to add 1,000 battery swapping stations in 2026, 99% of which are the newly upgraded fifth - generation battery swapping stations. By the end of 2026, the total number of battery swapping stations across the country will exceed 4,600. At the same time, NIO will continue to improve the layout of the high - speed battery swapping network in the "nine verticals, nine horizontals, and nineteen major urban agglomerations". CATL has also announced its construction plan for the battery swapping network in 2026, clearly stating that it will significantly accelerate the implementation of the battery swapping business and strive to build more than 2,500 Chocolate Battery Swapping Stations in 120 cities across the country.
The fundamental reason why both NIO and CATL continue to increase their investment in the battery swapping business is that the battery swapping mode still has irreplaceable advantages.
The "separation of the vehicle and the battery" in the battery swapping mode fundamentally solves the chronic problem of "different lifespans of the vehicle and the battery" in new energy vehicles, which is its core advantage. On the one hand, the separation of the vehicle and the battery can significantly reduce the threshold for purchasing a vehicle through battery leasing, making the vehicle purchase cost equal to or even lower than that of a fuel - powered vehicle. On the other hand, the battery swapping mode can achieve unified management of power batteries, which can control battery decay, extend battery life, and allow users of old new energy vehicles to enjoy the benefits of battery technology upgrades at any time.
Energy replenishment speed is also a significant advantage of the battery swapping mode. NIO's fourth - generation battery swapping station has shortened the battery swapping time to 2 minutes and 24 seconds, and the battery swapping time of CATL's Chocolate Battery Swapping Station is also controlled within 3 minutes. This energy replenishment speed is significantly faster than BYD's megawatt - level flash charging technology, which takes 9 minutes to fully charge. The energy replenishment experience is almost the same as refueling a fuel - powered vehicle. In addition, for new energy vehicle users who do not have a fixed parking space and cannot install a home charging pile, the battery swapping mode is the optimal solution for daily energy replenishment.
It is also worth mentioning that the battery swapping mode has outstanding scene adaptation capabilities. For example, in the low - temperature environment in northern winters, the charging efficiency of traditional charging piles will significantly decline, while the battery swapping mode can effectively avoid problems such as slow charging and reduced charging efficiency at low temperatures, providing stable energy replenishment services for new energy vehicle users.
However, despite the obvious advantages of the battery swapping mode, there are always two major obstacles on its development path, which is also the fundamental reason why the battery swapping mode has been repeatedly downgraded.
Firstly, the battery swapping mode has long faced the pain point of "standard fragmentation". As highly customized products, due to the different R & D directions and standards of power battery manufacturers, the power batteries produced cannot be unified in terms of energy density, battery structure, size specifications, etc. As a result, power batteries of different brands cannot be used interchangeably, which means that battery swapping stations can only serve vehicles of a single brand and are difficult to cover vehicles of more brands.
Secondly, the high construction and operation costs are also a major problem. Building a battery swapping station requires a huge amount of capital investment, including equipment purchase, installation, and commissioning. For example, the construction cost of a single NIO fourth - generation battery swapping station is about 2 million to 3 million yuan, which is several times the cost of a single ordinary ultra - fast charging pile. At the same time, the operation cost of battery swapping stations is also extremely high. In addition to bearing high site rental fees, it also has to bear the costs of daily maintenance and depreciation of power batteries.
It can be seen that although the battery swapping mode has unique advantages, its future is not destined to be a smooth one.
03 Complementary Coexistence Has Become an Industry Consensus
The so - called debate over the energy replenishment routes for new energy vehicles is essentially a false proposition in the face of real market demand. The ultimate form of the energy replenishment system is not the monopoly of a single route but the coordination and complementarity based on different scenarios and different needs. The coexistence and prosperity of the charging mode and the battery swapping mode have long become a common consensus in the industry.
Li Bin clearly stated in the program "Dialogue·Innovative China Tour" that battery swapping and ultra - fast charging are not in an opposing relationship but are solutions to different scenarios of energy replenishment needs, and the two do not conflict. Li Bin gave an example, saying, "A person can do well in both Chinese and mathematics." Previously, Shen Fei, the senior vice - president of NIO and the president of LeDao Automobile, also said that ultra - fast charging and battery swapping are not in a "life - and - death" competitive relationship but are solutions for different dimensions.
In fact, both BYD, NIO, and CATL are proving with practical actions that betting on a single energy replenishment route is not a wise move, and a diversified layout is more in line with the industry development trend.
BYD was once negative about the battery swapping mode, but in recent years, it has re - laid out in the field of commercial vehicle battery swapping. However, its focus is on the power battery product level rather than the construction and operation of battery swapping stations. While NIO is sticking to the battery swapping mode, it already has 28,000 self - built ultra - fast charging piles and has connected to 1.572 million third - party charging piles. CATL is not only popularizing ultra - fast charging technology through its Shenxing Battery but also laying out the battery swapping business through its Chocolate Battery Swapping Stations and Qiji Battery Swapping Stations.
The national policy level has always adhered to the orientation of "encouraging the coordinated development of multiple energy replenishment methods". In September 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments issued the "Three - Year Doubling Action Plan for the Service Capacity of Electric Vehicle Charging Facilities (2025 - 2027)", which listed the number of battery swapping stations and charging facilities as equally important indicators of the national charging service network capacity. In March 2026, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Notice on the Declaration of the Pilot Project to Make up for the Shortcomings of County - Level Charging and Battery Swapping Facilities in 2026", clearly requiring pilot counties to actively explore the application of new technologies and new models such as battery swapping, photo - storage - charging, all - liquid - cooling, and V2G according to local conditions, and setting incentive weights for advanced charging and battery swapping technologies respectively.
The confrontation between Li Bin and Li Yunfei is essentially not a debate over the energy replenishment routes for new energy vehicles but a market game based on the resource endowments, business models, and strategic positioning of their respective enterprises.
Different user groups and different travel scenarios correspond to different energy replenishment methods. The complementary advantages and coordinated coexistence of multiple energy replenishment routes are the optimal solution for the new energy vehicle energy replenishment system.
This article is from the WeChat public account “DoNews” (ID: ilovedonews), author: Zhang Yu, published by 36Kr with authorization.