BYD has unveiled its latest grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS), named Haohan, with a capacity of 14.5MWh and powered by a new 2,710Ah blade cell. The launch marks a step-change in scale for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) storage technology, though the size of both the cell and the system raise questions over practical deployment and commercial viability.

How big is 2,710Ah?

The 2,710Ah cell is an LFP blade design, adapted from BYD’s EV platform for stationary use. Until recently, cells in the 280Ah–314Ah range have dominated the storage market.

Mainstream cell formats deployed in the vast majority of systems today are 314Ah, having shifted from the industry-standard of 280Ah over the past year and half. In early September, the 400MWh/200MW Lingshou BESS project in China was commissioned using EVE’s 628Ah cells, the largest currently being deployed in the world. Other larger formats above 500Ah have started to emerge from Chinese suppliers in the past two years, but BYD’s product is by far the largest publicly disclosed to date.

With a capacity of 14.5MWh, the Haohan system would be one of the largest standard units currently on sale. It is nearly three times larger than Tesla’s Megapack 3 (5MWh) that was released last week, though still smaller than Gotion’s 20MWh product announced in June 2025 that uses 314Ah cells.

Silicon anodes in play?

Reports in Chinese media suggest BYD’s cell may incorporate graphite-silicon anode material, which would be a first for energy storage.

Varnika Agarwal, new technology analyst at Benchmark, said: “Within the BESS industry silicon anodes have long been viewed as promising but problematic, given their tendency for volumetric expansion and contraction, which can shorten cell life.”

“If BYD has found a way to integrate silicon successfully into such a large-format design, it would represent a significant development to monitor closely,” she added.

Performance trade-offs

Using larger format cell sizes can reduce the initial cost of an energy storage system. But, Agarwal cautioned, “larger cells often come with reduced cycle-life performance, which can, over time, erode those initial savings when measured by total cost of ownership.”

However, BYD has claimed the new cells are capable of 10,000 cycles, matching current industry benchmarks.

More information

To find out more about new technologies take a look at Benchmark’s New Technology Service or Rho Motion’s BESS Forecast report.

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