Look Out, Greentech World: China’s BYD is Coming

When Micheal Austin worked at Motorola, he was responsible for buying lithium-ion batteries for Motorola's mobile phones. His suppliers were the usual Japanese suspects and they were being, let's say, less than fair on price. That is, until China's BYD emerged as a supplier and shattered the Japanese battery cartel. BYD went on to become Motorola's primary battery supplier and eventually became the private-label supplier of many of Motorola's entire phones, not just the battery. Today, Austin is the VP of BYD America.

So who is BYD?

They might be the quietest 160,000-employee electronics contract manufacturing, OEM, and private labeling powerhouse you've never heard of. And they're coming to an automobile dealership, solar roof, and utility-scale battery application near you. Soon.

And if you're an auto maker, or an EV builder or a solar panel manufacturer -- it might be time to be a little scared.

Notable about BYD is their commitment to vertical integration. Austin said that he toured the mile-long auto production facility in Shenzen, China and that BYD is manufacturing everything in the car except for the tires and windshield glass. That means BYD airbags, BYD seatbelts, BYD batteries, BYD transmissions, etc.

This same vertical integration is seen in BYD's solar panel manufacturing process -- BYD owns the mines for the feedstock, and builds everything from feedstock through ingot to cells to panels. This also applies to their battery build, as well.

And if that wasn't enough of a commitment to going big in greentech, BYD is also building utility-scale battery based grid storage from their LiFe batteries. They are deploying 4-megawatt energy storage batteries for ancillary services and energy arbitrage. Austin said the battery cost was in the $500-per-kilowatt range, which is within striking distance of many expert's competitive target of $250 per kilowatt.

A slide from a recent BYD presentation follows that illustrates the vertical integration this company brings to bear.

More on BYD:
From Solar to Storage, BYD Dreams of Power

BYD Press Conference at 2010 Detroit Auto Show

Ask Warren Buffett 2010

Ask Warren Buffett - Complete CNBC Squawk Box Transcript - 2010-03-01

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Thanks to Miguel Barbosa from SimoleonSense for the original reference

From Solar to Storage, BYD Dreams of Power

A small building complex powered by rooftop solar panels and eight windmills is Wang Chuanfu's favorite venue for meeting fellow executives at BYD.

The two-villa compound at BYD's Pingshan base in eastern Shenzhen is known as the company's Future Village – a zero-emissions model for independent electricity production and storage.

The village is also a model for a key venture tied to BYD's future business plans. Power generated on site from the sun and wind is stored in a unique, BYD-made power-saving unit slightly larger than a refrigerator. All of its solar panels, wind turbines, water purifiers and silicon storage cells were built by BYD as well.

Future Village points to the fact that BYD, under chairman and founder Wang, is quickly moving beyond batteries, IT equipment and carmaking. The company is now using its successful, low-cost, vertically integrated enterprise model for a major foray into renewable energy.

In the past, it was widely thought that U.S. investor Warren Buffett's interest in BYD keyed on electric vehicles. But Future Village suggests the real money will be in energy storage units, according to the general manager of Beijing-based research firm Dragonomics, Arthur Kroeber.

Not coincidentally, Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings has started using BYD's battery package system at an energy storage station in Oregon.

Kroeber thinks BYD's core competitiveness lies in batteries rather than automobiles.

BYD's Storage Strategy

An energy storage unit is essentially a large battery pack. BYD currently makes one such product and plans to add a second to its lineup based on an exclusive "iron battery" technology.

Already available is a cabinet-shaped, 380-volt unit with an output of 200 per kwh. One of these units has been installed at BYD's Future Village to provide outdoor power.

BYD says the unit uses about 1,200 "iron batteries" to store 800 KW of electricity, which could satisfy eight months of consumption for a household of four. The unit has a 20-year lifespan and can be fully charged in four hours.

A future product is a 380-volt energy storage unit with an output of 1 MW per hour and 4,000 kwh of storage capacity. It's now undergoing tests at BYD's research institute and hasn't been released to the public.

Link to the Article

The Far-voyaging Pursuits of BYD

BYD Press Conference at 2010 Detroit Auto Show

Charlie Munger on Solar Energy and BYD (Video)

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Parris said Lancaster was "leading the pack" to become the location for a new car-making plant owned by the Chinese manufacturer BYD Co. Ltd, a giant in the rechargeable battery industry.

A delegation of Lancaster businesspeople, clergy and city staff will travel to China before spring to meet with potential investors, Parris said. Lancaster is also pursuing a sister-city relationship with Huainan, in China's central Anhui province. And Lancaster is considering establishing a bilingual English-Mandarin charter school in an effort to entice more Asians to move to the city, Parris said. 

"You can't just say you're a comfortable place for Chinese to do business, you have to be a comfortable place for Chinese to do business," Parris said.

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Santo Domingo mayor Roberto Salcedo today received the first 700 cars of the 3,000 which are part of a fleet of taxis for Greater Santo Domingo.

The all-yellow taxis, from the China automaker BYD (Build Your Dreams), arrived at San Soucí Port, and will be financed for eligible drivers with a 50% tax exemption.

Salcedo said the new taxis aim to improve the quality of the service in the Dominican capital, where riders can travel in comfort and safety.

“When you board a taxi you’ll know that it’s not just any a taxi, but a taxi which is regulated, properly identified and which its driver can guarantee a good service,” the official said, adding that the City Council’s Taxi Regulatory Agency (CART), will orient the drivers and issue the operating permits.

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Berjaya, China's BYD plan plant

Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) (3395) plans to set up a manufacturing plant in Malaysia to build right-hand-drive (RHD) vehicles for Chinese carmaker BYD Auto Co Ltd.

Yesterday, both parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop BYD's RHD F0 1-litre model for the Malaysian and Asean markets. 

BCorp executive director Francis Lee said the company will seek a licence from the Malaysian government to set up the plant.

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