BYD has launched a charging installation in the Abu Dhabi desert combining solar generation, battery storage, FLASH Charging and a robotic charging arm linked to Automated Valet Parking. FLASH Charging takes an electric vehicle from 10% to 70% in five minutes. BYD plans 6,000 FLASH Charging stations worldwide by end-2027.
BYD has launched a charging installation in the Abu Dhabi desert that combines solar power generation, battery energy storage, its FLASH Charging technology and a robotic charging arm. The company says this is the first time the four have been brought together in a single system.
According to Shenzhen, China-based BYD, FLASH Charging charges a vehicle from 10% to 70% in five minutes and from 10% to 97% in nine minutes.
The installation is built around BYD’s Solar-Storage-Charging (SSC) system, which captures solar energy, stores it in batteries and supplies it for vehicle charging as required. BYD says pairing solar generation with storage allows the system to operate independently of the electricity grid, so it can be deployed where grid access is limited. The Abu Dhabi site uses the system in a climate with intense sunlight, high temperatures and little rainfall.
The solar element is supplied by BYD Solar. The business has more than 16 years of experience in the solar industry, serves customers in more than 100 countries and regions, and has a research and development (R&D) team of more than 300 specialists and more than 200 technology patents.
According to Stella Li, executive vice president at BYD, the combined system is intended to simplify charging for drivers. “For the first time, BYD is bringing its integrated Solar-Storage-FLASH Charging technology to the global stage,” she says. “We are providing clean energy generation, energy storage and ultra-fast charging together, and we are making the charging experience smarter, simpler and more seamless for drivers around the world.”
At the site, a robotic arm handles the charging connection. It locates the vehicle’s charging port, opens its cover and inserts the connector, using visual guidance and force feedback to align and secure the connection.
The arm works with BYD’s Automated Valet Parking system. Drivers leave and lock the vehicle, which then drives itself to a designated charging space. Once it is parked, the robotic arm connects it to the FLASH charger, so the driver does not need to handle the cable.
BYD links the installation to the “Three Green Dreams” vision set out in 2006 by Wang Chuanfu, the company’s chairman and president: generating clean energy from solar power, storing it in batteries, and replacing gasoline-powered vehicles with electric ones.
The Abu Dhabi installation is part of BYD’s wider FLASH Charging rollout. The company plans to establish 6,000 FLASH Charging stations worldwide by the end of 2027.
