CATL unveils a battery that recharges 400 km of autonomy in 10 minutes

2023-08-18 17:00:02

Chinese battery giant CATL has unveiled its latest product for electric cars, an ultra-fast charging accumulator that can recover 400 kilometers of autonomy in just 10 minuteswith a maximum capacity of 700 kilometers.

This model, called Shenxing, has its sights set on the most affordable ranges of zero-emission mobility, since it is a lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) construction. According to the company, it is the first battery capable of 4C charging speeds, which translates into reaching 80% of its capacity in just 30 minutes.

CATL estimates that Shenxing will start manufacturing at the end of this year and customers will be able to receive the first vehicles – for now they have not confirmed which ones, but they will start in the Chinese market – starting in the first quarter of 2024.

2023 has been an exercise in innovation for the company, which has unveiled the Qilin model that provides all Zeekr 001 with more than 1,000 km of autonomy. Being an innovation in the structure and not in the chemical composition, this construction can be used in LFP cells or in the more expensive lithium-ion cells.

On the second day of the Shanghai Auto Show, last April, they also presented the Condensed Battery, with an energy density of 500 Wh/kg in a single cell. By comparison, the batteries used by a high-end electric sports car like the Porsche Taycan are around 250 Wh/kg.

CATL dominates the Chinese electricity market, with a 41.8% market share -it has a total of 13.5 GWh of installed capacity in the country’s mobile fleet-, followed by another giant, BYD, which also manufactures its own vehicles, with 29% penetration.

However, the tables are turned in the ferrophosphate arena. BYD dominates this environment, with 9.35 Gwh installed with this composition, a 43.2% share, and is followed by CATL, with 6.9 GWh and a 31.7% presence.

CATL is expected to build a battery factory in Hungary, with Mercedes-Benz as one of its main customers. This will be the largest in Europe, with a planned maximum capacity of 100 GWh and an investment of more than 7,300 million euros. It will be operational, predictably, in 2028.