- Catl reveals the second generation of its “shenxing” fast -charged battery
- A charging of five minutes can add over 320 miles range
- Lithium-iron-phosphate battery cells are cheaper than nickel-rich rivals
China’s EV giants are currently involved in a battery charging arm, which, like BYD, Huawei and Zeekr, all recently announced that they had broken 1 MW charging speeds for five minutes of battery-up-ups.
CATL, the world’s largest EV battery manufacturer on a long road, has also participated in the competition, announcing that its next generation ‘Shenxing’ LFP (lithium-ion phosphate) Battery can add over 320 miles in just five minutes from the appropriate but currently thin-on-earth 1 MW fast charging outputs.
Catls Chief Technology Officer Gao Huan said the batteries will be in more than 67 new EVs to arrive this year and said the goal is to make the shenxing technology “standard” for electric vehicles.
But alongside the company’s range technology, it also announced a more energy-tight sodium battery that is labeled as Naxtra. This will deliver a range of over 300 miles that offer a much more affordable and safer option for the current lithium and lead-based batteries.
CATL says that technology achieves an energy density of 175Wh per year. Kg, which puts it on par with many of today’s Premium LFP battery packages found in BYD, Tesla and Volvo products.
Plus, with an abundance of sodium, it reduces the dependence of rare soil materials, making it much cheaper to manufacture and could therefore be introduced to more affordable EVs in Entry-Level in the future.
China continues to push EV TECH forward
Alongside its more affordable, sodium-based batteries and ultra-fast charging packages, the company’s CTO also suggested a new “double-power” packing design, which would allow two different battery make-ups to run in parallel.
Although there was little in the way of examples of the real world on the company’s recent technology day in Shanghai, Catl declared that two lithium-ion devices with Nikkel-Agan-Kobolt (NMC) Catoder could possibly offer a capacity of 180 kWh-long by eclipse the 100 or so kWh distributed by the most expensive EV’s.
This would effectively be able to operate a small electric sedan for nearly 950 miles before the battery packs run dry, doubling practically the range, which was touted by some of the most advanced electric vehicles for sale today.
Of course, this kind of technology will be reserved for the richest of Catl’s car cover and embedded in Premium models that the masses can only dream of giving.
But the company’s constant ‘leveling’ of battery technology means that even the most basic technology it offers is now becoming more energy -tight, safer and faster to charge.
Could the days of long charging stops and constantly interrupt electrical road trips soon behind us? Let’s hope so.
