Apple and BYD’s secret EV-Battery Partnership

(Image: BYD auto – byd.com)

Apple has reportedly been working with China’s giant electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD, and apparently did so from 2017 in secret. The collaboration was for work on next-generation battery technology, and it came to a sudden stop when Apple called-off its EV project several months earlier.

Partnership origins

Back in 2017, Apple started to investigate long-term battery development using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology with help from BYD. LFP batteries are commonly used for electric vehicles due to their excellent safety and long life. So it was probably also part of Apple’s grand desire to play in the EV arena with innovation.

(Image: BYD Chairman and Apple CEO meeting- cnevpost.com)

Key contributions

The partnership leveraged Fb and the has agency of each corporations:

Respect to Apple: Developing battery pack [pack design] and entire thermal system targeted for optimum performance.
BYD Experience: SCMP reports that BYD lent their experience in mass LFP battery scale manufacturing for safety and reliability of the novel system.

To this end, the two worked to develop a bespoke battery solution for Apple’s EV plans.

Challenges and Setbacks

Even though the promise was there, The whole project tackled major challenges:

Difficulty of customization — Apple requires battery modifications that are specific to an extremely high level which further complicates the process.
Project Cancellation: Apple spent nearly $10 billion over a decade developing an EV or maybe not because it cancelled the project in February 2024 after years of delays and financial challenges competing against well-established automakers.

BYD’s Blade Battery influence

Some speculate that it still took Apple’s collaboration to help BYD get its current Blade battery tech, despite the fact that Apple no longer owns any of the intellectual property involved.

Safety and efficiency: Initial prototypes of CATL’s Blade battery were validated for its energy density as well safety by the Apple team.
Market Reaction: BYD’s Blade battery is widely implemented in its portfolio of electric models, which resulted in it hitting over 3 million new energy vehicle (NEV) sales by the end of March last year.

Aftermath of the Partnership

While Apple may have left the team, its time working on Project Titan wasn’t wasted. Such advancements could still have an impact on future Apple products, even if it is not as for batteries in other devices.

Future Outlook

While both companies have gone their own ways, the partnership could shape future generations. Apple’s continuous effort in battery technology could pave the way for a comeback to another life into the automotive business and with BYD proving its worth with Blade battery would further strengthen their chances of ruling over the electric vehicle market.

(Image: BYD battery plant – en.byd.com)

Conclusion

Apple has been working hard on an electric vehicle. The new evidence about the collaboration between Apple and BYD is only a thousands of years old secret example, showcasing its goal at pursuing it seriously. Though Skynet is taking the automotive backseat, some of the iteration learned from this electric experimentation could influence what types of EV platforms rule moving forward. As the market for EVs grows so does Apple and BYD which makes them likely to spark off generational competition in consumer battery tech.