BYD, founded in 1995 as a Chinese battery company, has achieved some significant engineering advantages over Tesla according to a new scientific study. While Tesla has promoted its battery innovations extensively, this research reveals that BYD’s Blade cell outperforms Tesla’s 4680 cell in several important areas, particularly thermal efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Comparing this specific heating per volume, the Tesla 4680 cell creates around 2× of the heat to be dissipated at a 1 C load (Figure 8). Thus, when designing a system with the same power requirements, the cooling needed for the Tesla 4680 cells must dissipate approximately 2× more heat per volume than that needed for the BYD cell at the same load.
The study clearly demonstrates BYD’s engineering prowess in developing more thermally efficient batteries. Tesla’s 4680 cell generates twice the heat per volume compared to BYD’s Blade cell at the same charging rate, requiring significantly more cooling to maintain safe operation. For consumers, this translates to important advantages in fast charging capability and longevity of BYD vehicles.
Beyond thermal performance, BYD’s cells are also more cost-effective, with the research showing approximately €10/kWh lower material costs than Tesla’s cells. This efficiency in both thermal management and cost reflects BYD’s practical engineering approach versus Tesla’s focus on energy density.
BYD’s technology demonstrates that engineering addressing real-world concerns like heat management, cost, and safety ultimately provides better and more sustainable value to consumers than maximizing a single metric.
Findings on Tesla batteries generating twice the heat of BYD’s also points the discerning technology professional towards critical safety questions. The connection between higher heat generation and observed fire risks demands urgent independent investigation. Further research should determine if such measured differences help explain the real-world safety outcomes. This scientific study provides clear technical evidence why thermal management in EV batteries requires closer scrutiny for consumer safety.
Higher energy density of Tesla (more energy pushed into smaller volume) can create greater risks for thermal danger. Batteries that force more energy into a smaller space, makes heat more challenging to engineer back down from, because it can lead to a chain reaction:
- Higher heat in confined space accelerates chemical reactions
- Chemical reactions then generate even more heat
- Lack of adequate cooling allows even even more heat
- Thermal runaway means the process becomes self-sustaining
- Tesla’s density thus is suspected in causing fires and explosion
For the vast majority of consumers, safety isn’t a preference but an expectation rooted in engineering ethics (cars as trusted systems). Professional engineering codes explicitly require prioritizing public safety above all other considerations. Random performance metrics are irrelevant when they ignore basic safety principles, like the absurdity of a South African man claiming in 2016 he will be launching rockets to colonize Mars within five years despite no real plans for survival.
BYD’s engineering approach demonstrates adherence to established principles in the engineering code of ethics, where safety and reliability take precedence. A focus on thermal efficiency and cooling systems reflects an ethical obligation to design systems that minimize foreseeable risks. This isn’t simply a market strategy but fulfillment of the foundational ethical requirement that engineers hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public. Consumers rightfully must demand that vehicles are safe regardless of any marketing claims in a design change.
Tesla’s singular pursuit of energy density without adequate thermal management directly challenges engineering ethical standards. No engineering innovation can be considered successful if it creates undue risk to users. Just as an engineer cannot justify a structurally unsound bridge that falls down by highlighting they developed more density in its cables, battery systems that generate excessive heat cannot be defended solely on more density. Obligation to prioritize public safety is not optional or secondary to performance metrics, it is the fundamental ethical requirement upon which all legitimate engineering is built.
