Electrifying.com New Car Awards 2024
Innovation of the Year: BYD Blade Battery

The heart of any electric car is the battery. It makes up around 40% of the value and we rely on it to keep us moving. And yet we know very little about them. There is furious research going on behind the scenes of course, and improvements in performance, sustainability and cost are happening at a dizzying pace.

The winner of our Innovation of the Year award - BYD’s Blade Battery - exemplifies the impact that research is having on the cars we can buy right now. BYD has spent more than 20 years researching, developing and producing batteries for everything from iPads to Tesla. But BYD is also a car maker in its own right and its cars are fitted with the innovative Blade Battery, which is setting new standards for safety and energy density, as well as reducing dependency on rare-earth metals.

The Blade Battery uses chemistry which is cheaper, less volatile and uses fewer precious metals than other batteries and offers better durability under repeated charging. The battery’s cells are arranged into thin ‘blades’ (hence the name), which allow for a higher energy density - more capacity in less space - and a strong cell that can form part of the car’s structure. Again, that’s great for those at the wheel, especially as it helps make the car more rigid - good for handling and safety - and saves weight.

The Blade has also been tested to extremes, including being heated in a furnace, crushed and pierced with nails, to ensure that it can withstand the most severe accidents. Battery technology continues to change at a rapid pace but there’s no doubt that BYD is at the forefront of that research and a worthy winner of our Innovation of the Year award.

Founder and CEO of Electrifying.com Ginny Buckley said:

“Battery technology is developing at a dizzying pace, but with an increased focus on safety and sustainability over the long term, BYD’s Blade technology offers something genuinely new and innovative. It’s a worthy winner of Electrifying’s Innovation of the Year award.”