With NEVs, the term China uses for EVs and PHEVs, now accounting for over half of all car sales batteries are becoming increasingly important. While not as sexy as the latest car launches what powers them is equally newswothy and battery giant CATL got in on the action with its new Shenxing Plus battery. Using cheaper more stable lithium iron phosphate it achieves 4C charging and can add 600 kilometers in as little as 10 minutes.
Key statistic for the Shenxing Plus is the energy density of 205 Wh/kg. Car companies have tended to use lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP) for cheaper vehicles for two reasons firstly the batteries cost less and secondly they are safer. Where they could not compete with NCM chemistry batteries was for energy density. This meant that to give longer range while keeping battery weight down more expensive NCM was the only option despite (LFP) being supposedly safer. An energy density of 205 Wh/kg is comparable to many NCM batteries.
CATL has applied a self-developed 3D honeycomb material to improve the energy density of the anode and control expansion of the charging and discharging volume. Also aiding the space utilization is CTB 3.0 (cell to body) technology which gives the battery an integrated shell structure, volume efficiency is increased by 7%.
CATL claim the new battery can enable cars to have a 1000 km range (CLTC). The Shenxing Plus is a 4C battery meaning that the charging multiplier is four times. A ten minute charge can add 600 km range and 1 km can be added in a second. The current Shenxing battery can add 400 km in ten minutes and so the Plus version is a significant improvement.
Features such as an ultra-high cooling efficiency high-voltage box, and AI intelligent battery management system algorithm help ensure the safety of the battery.
CATL can produce a battery cell in one second in the company’s lighthouse factories.
Also announced at the press conference was the launch of the Shenxing supercharging network. Working with Huawei, Star Charging, Shudao New Energy, and Cloud Fast Charging it aims to build the largest supercharging service platform in China.
Editor’s note:
The Shenxing Plus is a big breakthrough for CATL and means that it is currently at the forefront of LFP batteries. It also gives a lot of pressure to BYD to really come up with something revolutionary for its second generation blade battery. Currently the expectation is for only around 190 Wh/kg.
Source: Fast Technology
Wow, even better than BYDs Blade generation 2.0 with 190 Wh/kg?
205 Wh/kg, and very fast charging. So now we don’t have only a price war between all the car brands, but also an interesting competition between the two major battery suppliers.
Great news Andrew.
Currently the 190 Wh/kg is speculation for the Blade second generation. With the Shenxing Plus capable of this there will be a lot of pressure on BYD to at least achieve 200 Wh/kg.