CATL, the world’s largest EV battery maker and a major Tesla supplier, has launched a new lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery that it claims can add 248 miles of range in 10 minutes of charging.
The company says its new Shenxing battery (named for an ancient Chinese phrase having to do with speed) will deliver up to 434 miles of range on China’s CLTC cycle. It supports 4C fast charging, which means it can charge at a current of 12 A above the diffusion limiting current.
CATL says the new battery owes its speed to several in-house technologies, including accelerated extraction of lithium ions, an improved lithium-ion intercalation rate through fast ion ring technology, a multi-gradient layered electrode design, a new superconducting electrolyte formula, and an ultra-thin and safer separator.
Automakers are increasingly turning to LFP cells, which tend to be cheaper and more durable than cells using other chemistries. Traditionally, the drawbacks of LFP are lower energy density and poorer cold-weather performance, but CATL says these are no longer issues. According to the company, the Shenxing LFP battery can achieve fast charging even in temperatures as low as 14° F.
CATL says the Shenxing battery is expected to enter mass production in China by the end of this year, and the first EVs equipped with the new battery will launch in the first quarter of 2024.
“We hope that, through continuous efforts to improve technology and reduce costs, Shenxing will become a standard product available for every electric vehicle,” said Gao Han, Chief Technology Officer of CATL’s E-Car Business.
