Apple may have killed off its autonomous electric car project earlier this year, but a new report suggests Chinese carmaker BYD is still using battery technology co-developed with the tech giant.
An anonymous source told business publication Bloomberg that Apple secretly started working with BYD on long-range electric vehicle (EV) battery technology back in 2017, the two companies collaborating to develop a long-range battery pack using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry.
Today’s BYD Blade battery system features a design which Bloomberg reports – per people involved in its development – was “informed” by lessons from the Apple project.
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BYD Blade battery
The Apple car development program – codenamed Project Titan – reportedly leveraged the tech giant’s battery expertise with manufacturing and LFP cell contributions from BYD.
After more than a decade of development, the Apple car project was reportedly canned back in February, despite the investment of several billion dollars over the course of a decade.
The so-called Apple car was initially expected to be fully autonomous and launch as early as 2026, although a concept or prototype was never shown.
While the joint venture pursued battery technology very similar to the Blade battery pack designs used in BYD models today, the brand has dismissed any links to Apple.
“The concept for the Blade battery originated with BYD engineers, who independently developed this LFP Blade battery,” BYD told Bloomberg in a statement.
“BYD holds complete property rights and patent rights for the Blade battery.”
The Bloomberg report notes BYD engineers showed an early version of the Blade battery to Apple executives around a decade ago, with executives from the tech giant impressed by its safety and energy storage capabilities.
Launched back in 2020, the first-generation Blade battery found in models such as the Atto 3 SUV, Dolphin hatchback and Seal sedan has an energy density of 150 Wh/kg.
The longest-range BYD model currently sold in Australia is the Seal Premium Extended Range, with its 82.6kWh Blade battery capable of a claimed 570km of driving range on the stricter WLTP cycle.
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