Battery giant CATL’s new fast power pack to tackle range anxiety

BATTERY giant Contemporary Amperex Technology unveiled a new superfast-charging battery on Wednesday (Aug 16) that could be a game-changer in helping cure range anxiety and encourage drivers to switch to electric vehicles.

The world’s biggest maker of clean car batteries showed off its new ‘Shenxing’ cell, which can charge to a range of 400 kilometres (248 miles) in just 10 minutes. It is also capable of powering up in extreme weather conditions, the company said.

Mass production of the superfast-charge battery will start by year-end, and it will be commercially available from the first quarter of 2024. The so-called lithium-iron-phosphate, or LFP, battery is capable of 700km of range on a full charge.

Tesla’s equivalent fast-charge capability can get between 260kms-322kms of range in 15 minutes depending on the type of car. GAC AION New Energy Automobile uses fast-charging cells that can get 500kms of range after 15 minutes.

CATL has unveiled a slew of products in recent times – from batteries that can drive 1,000km on a single-charge, to its most powerful product, a condensed cell that it claims could prove robust enough to power electric aircraft in the future. CATL has also developed cheaper sodium-ion batteries.

CATL has a global market share of 36.8 per cent, more than double than its nearest rival BYD, according to SNE Research. It supplies to a vast array of companies including Tesla, Mercedes-Benz Group, Hyundai Motor, Nio and Volkswagen. BLOOMBERG