About a decade ago, engineers from BYD (BYDDY, Financial) showcased an early version of the Blade Battery to Apple's senior executives, laying the foundation for a collaborative venture. This partnership between Apple and BYD has been instrumental in developing BYD's current automotive battery technology. Despite Apple's significant financial investment in battery design and engineering, the technology used in the Blade Battery remains proprietary to BYD.
Recent reports suggest that Apple had initially embarked on a secretive electric vehicle project almost ten years ago, which has since been abandoned. However, this endeavor has indirectly benefited BYD due to their collaboration on developing long-range electric vehicle batteries. The project, which started around 2017, utilized lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology, aiming to enhance the battery life and safety of electric vehicles.
The partnership remained undisclosed until recently, with Apple contributing expertise in battery pack and thermal management, while BYD brought advancements in LFP battery manufacturing. BYD's Blade Battery, which was publicly introduced in March 2020, has set new industry standards for safety and longevity in electric vehicles. In rigorous safety tests, the Blade Battery showed superior performance compared to traditional battery types, significantly reducing the risk of thermal runaway incidents.
Although Apple does not own any technology used in the Blade Battery, their collaboration with BYD exemplifies their previous efforts to enter the automotive market. Before partnering with BYD, Apple had explored a variety of battery compositions and invested heavily in battery design to incorporate different elements like nickel and alkaline.
