Exponent Energy unveils 1.5MW fast charger as BYD launches 5-minute tech

Bengaluru-based Exponent Energy on Wednesday said that the company will launch its 1.5 megawatt (MW) rapid charging technology later this year.

The announcement came after China-based BYD launched a new 1MW charging technology that can charge EVs within five minutes.

Exponent Energy currently manufactures 1MW charging for electric buses which can fully charge these vehicles in about 15 minutes.

“As a nation, we need to have self-belief that we can build and own all layers of EV tech. We’ve historically been followers in ICE. We can’t repeat that with EVs. There was a lot of excitement about the BYD 1MW charging. But we’ve already got 1MW charging right here. We’re actually doing this on standard off-the-shelf cells which makes it 10X accessible. BYD has fantastic cell material science capability. Allowing them to do 10C. Stuff we need to catch up on in India. Optimistic that we will have an Indian cell partner soon,” said Arun Vinayak, CEO and Co-founder of Exponent Energy.

Co-founded in 2020 by ex-Ather execs, Arun Vinayak and Sanjay Balyal, the company has worked on their battery pack, charging station, and charging connector that together can unlock a 15-minute rapid charge and give a 3000-cycle life warranty for EVs. 

The company is currently focused on developing charging technology for three-wheeler cargo and passenger vehicles along with inter-city buses for the next year.

BYD’s race to the top

On Monday, Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD unveiled a new charging system that can charge EVs in five minutes—as quickly as it takes to refill fuel in an ICE vehicle.

Shares of the Warren Buffett-backed company jumped 4.1% on March 18 to touch a record high of 408.80 Hong Kong dollars, giving a jolt to the EV ecosystem globally.

According to Wang Chuanfu, BYD’s billionaire founder, the new Super e-Platform has a charging power of 1,000 kilowatts which can enable travel of up to 400 km on a five-minute charge.

For context, BYD’s competitor, Elon Musk-led Tesla’s supercharger network takes between 15 and 20 minutes to charge the vehicle up to 80%.

Tesla’s share price slumped by 5.5% the same day adding to the 44% wipe in its valuation so far this year as investors take caution of its declining sales.

Amidst tightened competition between the two EV giants, Tesla is looking to enter the Indian market which BYD entered in 2007. Today, the firm has a 3% market share in the country as of 2024 and recorded a 40% rise in sales last year.

According to a report by Elektrek in February, Tesla deliveries are expected to decrease this quarter to levels not seen in the past two years.