During
its
ten-year
project
to
produce
an
autonomous
electric
automobile,
tech
giant
Apple
reportedly
had
a
clandestine
partnership
with
BYD.
According
to
sources,
Apple
had
several
partners
for
its
now-cancelled
“Project
Titan,”
including
BYD,
the
Chinese
automaker.
It
is
speculated
that
the
the
two
businesses
collaborated
on
lithium
iron
phosphate
(LFP)
battery
cells
in
2017.
According
to
sources,
Apple
and
Chinese
automaker
BYD
have
been
working
together
since
2014,
when
Apple
executives
first
saw
early
iterations
of
the
Blade
battery.
Based
on
the
reports,
Apple
contributed
knowledge
of
improved
battery
packs
and
heat
management,
while
BYD
provided
manufacturing
expertise
and
advancements
in
LFP
cell
technology.
Apple
and
BYD
Worked
Together
for
an
Upcoming
EV
Vehicle
Sources
also
speculate
that,
the
two
businesses
were
attempting
to
integrate
their
disparate
pack
and
cell
initiatives
in
order
to
create
a
long-range,
secure
battery
system
for
Apple’s
car.
According
to
Bloomberg
which
cited
individuals
with
knowledge
of
the
situation,
tech
giant
Apple
withdrew
from
the
partnership
and
contemplated
utilizing
systems
from
different
battery
manufacturers.
According
to
reports,
Apple’s
relationship
was
supervised
by
former
VW
CEO
Alexander
Hitzinger
and
battery
specialist
Mujeeb
Ijaz,
who
together
managed
a
staff
of
50
engineers.
Moreover,
there
were
numerous
delays
in
the
overall
automobile
project,
and
the
economics
of
the
EV
industry
eventually
proved
to
be
too
intimidating.
Apple
spent
an
approximately
US
$1
billion
annually
on
developing
its
own
autonomous
electric
car
before
axing
the
entire
project
in
February
and
shifting
its
resources
to
their
Artificial
Intelligence
project.
The
battery
research
effort
apparently
influenced
other
parts
of
Apple’s
technological
portfolio,
such
as
the
Vision
Pro
headset
and
Neural
engine
AI
chip,
yet
the
company’s
automotive
ambitions
never
came
to
fruition.