The Guardian view on EV charging: China took the right lessons from Britain's past | Editorial

"BYD, the world's biggest car seller, unveiled a new battery giving its latest electric models more than 600 miles of range. Remarkably, the Chinese motor-maker said 250 miles of range could be injected into its new batteries in just five minutes. If true, the last remaining advantages of petrol cars—long range and quick refuelling—are beginning to disappear."

"BYD's system relies on chargers delivering around 1.5 megawatts of electricity—more than four times the fastest chargers in the UK. China is moving fast, planning thousands of megawatt charging stations within two years. Britain, by contrast, would struggle to support such a network today."

"Under the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), generation, transmission and system operation were integrated within a single organisation that planned the network. Large power stations were linked by a national grid and run as one system, delivering decades of efficiency gains and falling electricity prices."

BYD, China's largest car manufacturer, has unveiled a revolutionary battery technology enabling electric vehicles to achieve over 600 miles of range with 250 miles rechargeable in five minutes. This advancement eliminates petrol cars' traditional advantages of long range and quick refueling. However, implementing this technology demands megawatt-scale charging infrastructure delivering approximately 1.5 megawatts of power—four times faster than UK's current fastest chargers. China plans thousands of such stations within two years, while Britain's fragmented electricity system, managed by multiple independent bodies, lacks the integrated coordination necessary for such infrastructure. Historically, Britain's postwar Central Electricity Generating Board unified generation, transmission, and operations, enabling rapid grid development and efficiency gains. Today's decentralized system makes infrastructure improvements slow and difficult, requiring substantial upgrades to substations and local networks to handle power demands from ultra-fast EV charging.

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