Where will 800V roll in 2024? Looking back at 2023, the key word is “roll”. Roll prices, roll technology, roll products, roll marketing. 800V is one of the important technologies under the phenomenon of “roll”. As electrification gradually deepens and new energy vehicles enter a comprehensive competitive era, they are not only constantly pursuing the ultimate in performance, but also constantly innovating in the fields of endurance and charging. 800V, as an important part of the supercharging ecosystem, has become the focus of competition for many car companies. In 2019, after Porsche released the first 800V model Taycan, major car companies followed suit. Independent car companies have the upper hand, sprinting at the speed of 100 meters, and are bound to seize the initiative in 800V technology. Currently, mainstream car companies such as SAIC, GAC, Geely, NIO, Xiaopeng, Ideal, Xiaomi, and others have launched 800V high-voltage models.
According to relevant data, the penetration rate of 800V models in China in 2023 is about 2%. The price of 800V models will continue to decline, entering the 150,000-200,000 yuan (28100$) range. On January 5th, Geely will adjust the SEA pure electric architecture used for Ji Ke to the Galaxy series products. The Geely Galaxy E8, as an 800V model, is officially entering the mass market of 200,000 yuan (28100$). This also means that the “800V war” is about to escalate. Zhang Yongwei, vice chairman and secretary general of the China Electric Vehicle Hundred People’s Association, predicts that the automobile industry will enter the 2.0 stage of internal competition, and car companies will take new technologies as an important competitive tool. In 2024, 800V high-voltage fast charging will be rapidly popularized and mass-produced. If 2023 is a small-scale trial for 800V as a new technology, then 2024 will be the year when 800V is widely adopted. Where will 800V go in 2024? 800V, originating from Porsche and adopted by independent car companies. In 2019, Porsche launched the world’s first pure electric vehicle with an 800V high-voltage electrical system, the Taycan. This charging efficiency, even in today’s continuously upgraded electric vehicles, is still competitive. However, after adding the charge pump to this model, in addition to the increased volume, the additional cost also increases. According to relevant data, the cost of adding such a component alone is close to five or six thousand yuan. Therefore, 800V technology has always been a standard configuration for high-end models. In the domestic market, Geely’s pure electric SEA architecture released in 2020 supports 800V technology. BYD’s e platform 3.0 released in 2021 also supports 800V. However, considering the cost and product development pace, neither party launched a mass-produced 800V model at that time. By 2022, the Lynk & Co. Alpha S HI version supports 800V fast charging, but the charging power is only 187kW. Coupled with low vehicle sales, it did not bring much momentum to the popularization of 800V technology. “Super fast charging is the trend, and domestic and foreign companies are following the 800V architecture,” said Wang Bin, a senior industry expert in the automotive charging industry, to Gasgoo. Compared to 400V charging voltage, the 800V high-voltage system can increase charging power and driving power, significantly improving overall vehicle performance, while effectively reducing the weight and cost of the entire vehicle wiring harness and other components. Of course, fast charging can also significantly alleviate range anxiety. As the marginal cost of increasing range increases, faster charging rates can effectively solve charging anxiety, prompting new energy vehicles to break free from the “bucket effect” and achieve a charging experience comparable to that of traditional fuel vehicles, thereby comprehensively improving consumer usage experience. 2023 is the year of popularization of 800V technology. Looking at the development situation in 2023, 800V fast-charging platform models are accelerating their launch and further reducing prices.
Last April, Ideal Car released a pure electric solution, equipped with NINGDE Times 4C Kirin battery, ushering in the era of 10-minute fast charging; on June 29 of the same year, the Xpeng G6, with a starting price of 209,900 yuan (29490$), was launched, with the first mass-produced global 800V high-voltage silicon carbide platform, fast charging peak power of 280kW, driving the price of 800V fast charging platform models down to the 200,000 yuan (28100$) range. As of now, more than 20 car brands have launched or confirmed to launch 800V high-voltage platforms. For example, BYD e-platform 3.0, Geely SEA Haohan platform, Hyundai E-GMP, Mercedes-Benz EVA electric modular platform, Zhiji Global 800V dual silicon carbide platform, Xiaomi car 800V silicon carbide high-voltage platform, and so on. In addition, according to Gaishi Auto’s preliminary statistics, there are already more than 50 800V high-voltage models released on the market.
Overall, the 800V technology has achieved initial results in 2023, with 800V models becoming a major highlight in car sales and their sales effect gradually becoming apparent. For example, the monthly sales of the Xiaopeng G6 800V model are close to 9,000 units, helping Xiaopeng Motors move from the edge of crisis to stable development; as a subsidiary 800V model, the Zhiji LS sold 9,878 units in June, contributing to 95% of Zhiji’s sales. In addition, the pre-sale of the Jike 007 exceeded 50,000 units in 40 days, and the credit for this goes to the 800V technology. Why is the 800V technology so popular? It is well known that the anxiety about new energy vehicles mainly focuses on two aspects: first, the concern about the vehicle’s insufficient range; second, the concern about the efficiency of recharging. In the early stages of new energy vehicle development, consumers and companies focused on the vehicle’s range. Nowadays, with the continuous improvement of power battery technology, the range is gradually increasing, and even batteries with a range of “1000km” are appearing, which is gradually weakening the problem of range anxiety. However, the problems of difficult and slow charging are receiving increasing attention. “Fast charging is broadly defined in the industry, and we generally consider a charging rate of 2C or higher, with a maximum power of 120 kW as fast charging,” said Li Mo, a technical expert in the charging industry. “Fast charging will effectively solve the problem of charging anxiety. Compared to the heavy asset operation model of battery swapping, the development prospects of fast charging are clearer.” Li Mo pointed out that there are currently two technical solutions for fast charging, namely high-current fast charging and high-voltage fast charging. “The representative of high-current fast charging is Tesla, with the V3 supercharger reaching a maximum current of 700A,” Li Mo said. “The advantage of Tesla’s fast charging solution is that it is simple to modify, but it generates significant heat, and efficient charging cannot be achieved universally.” The other solution is high-voltage fast charging, which has the technical advantage of low heat loss and is beneficial for reducing the weight of the wiring harness, but it requires the construction of high-voltage charging pile infrastructure and increases the hardware requirements for vehicles. “Currently, the high-voltage solution is the mainstream solution in the industry,” Li Mo said.
“800V high voltage fast charging refers to the voltage of the whole vehicle high-voltage electrical system at 550-930V, which is higher than the traditional 230-450V new energy voltage range,” Li Mo further emphasized that after the voltage is increased, the current decreases, battery loss and wiring harness loss are reduced, and the overall vehicle efficiency is improved, while reducing the diameter of the wiring harness is more conducive to the overall vehicle layout. Of course, the popularization of fast charging requires the joint technological progress of battery cells, electric vehicles, and charging piles. In Wang Bin’s view, the high-rate materialization of battery cells, the high-voltage platform of electric vehicles, and the popularization of fast charging piles are the three decisive conditions for the commercial application process of fast charging mode. Overall, the 800V high-voltage system mainly includes three aspects: first, 800V high-voltage fast charging, which can achieve fast charging from the perspective of power battery charging and discharging; second, key components use 800V high voltage, such as the electric drive system using 800V high voltage; third, the overall vehicle 800V high voltage, that is, electric drive, electronic control, battery, etc., all support 800V high voltage operation. Considering the cost and technological difficulty, currently, most companies only use 800V high-voltage fast charging first. Firstly, 800V high-voltage fast charging can already solve the consumer’s concern about charging efficiency, and the technical cost of 800V high-voltage fast charging is relatively low, meeting the current pursuit of the ultimate cost-effectiveness of new energy vehicles. Of course, whether it is 800V high-voltage fast charging, 800V electric drive system, or the overall vehicle 800V high voltage, the advantages are very obvious. If the entire vehicle achieves the overall 800V high voltage in the future, it will fully meet the needs of fast charging, sufficient power, low loss, and long endurance, which will effectively make up for the last shortcoming of new energy vehicles. As Wang Bin said, the 800V models are gradually being mass-produced, which means that the era of 800V has begun, and will promote the comprehensive development of the new energy vehicle industry towards “high voltage,” “standardization,” and “800V is a fast charging technology recognized by the industry. With the unification of technical standards, it will promote the sharing of charging for electric vehicles, saving social resources and further meeting user needs.” The future of 800V looks bright, but the reality is harsh Indeed, the future of 800V technology is promising, but there are also many problems that need to be solved “800V high-voltage technology is not the more advanced, the better. Choosing the right time to adopt it is important.” Regarding the development of 800V, the head of a leading new force in the automotive industry believes that the timing for rapid adoption of 800V is not yet fully mature. He elaborated on three aspects: infrastructure, technical difficulty, and cost. First, the infrastructure is not fully ready. “For example, in developed areas, there are 800V charging piles, with a coverage rate of 70% in Zhejiang, but in underdeveloped areas, there are only 30-40%, and only 400V charging piles cannot complete fast charging tasks.” Second, the material issue cannot be ignored. Under the 400V voltage platform, various electronic components of the electrical system use IGBT insulated gate bipolar transistors. With the application of 800V high voltage, IGBT electronic devices can no longer withstand 800V or even higher voltage access. Therefore, the industry has turned its attention to the insulation and heat resistance of silicon carbide. “Everyone is desperately building silicon carbide module factories, but the real large-scale efforts will not come until 2025 or 2026.” Third, cost remains an important barrier. The person in charge believes that the cost of silicon carbide is currently high, and the cost of high-voltage fast-charging battery cells is also high. “When the cost of silicon carbide is reduced to be similar to the cost of IGBT, the cost of high-voltage battery cells and regular battery cells will be equivalent, then it will be a good time for 800V to rise rapidly.”
The leader’s views coincide with the case of the Zhiji S7. Recently, the Zhiji S7 started delivery, and some owners found that this car only supports fast charging piles above 750V, which does not match the claimed 800V model. Subsequently, Zhiji S7 customer service responded that this car uses an 800V high-voltage platform and cannot be adapted to 500V low-voltage piles. Some industry insiders speculated that this model may have directly canceled the booster to reduce costs. Therefore, it was ridiculed by netizens as an “electric car that can only use 95-octane gasoline”. This also indicates that the popularization of 800V fast charging will still take some time. Faced with the uneven construction of high-voltage fast charging piles and related technical issues, the large-scale promotion of 800V will still face certain obstacles. Of course, these issues cannot stop the progress of 800V. 2024 will be a year of large-scale introduction of 800V models. Consulting agencies predict that based on the current estimation of fast charging models, the penetration rate of domestic passenger car fast charging is expected to increase to around 7% in 2024, with major sales contributions from NIO, WM Motor, Arcfox, Zhiji, XPeng, and Li Auto, and the penetration rate is expected to further increase to 10% in 2025. It is undeniable that new technologies often face technical challenges and commercialization difficulties, and large-scale application is not an overnight success. The large-scale popularization of 800V still takes time. Fortunately, domestic brands are actively trying out technology architectures, and the active exploration of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain is gradually solving technical and commercial difficulties, creating a good situation for the development of 800V. In 2024, 800V will further enhance performance, reduce costs, improve infrastructure, and increase promotion efforts, and the high-voltage fast charging technology will continue to mature.