CATL encourages considering the purchase of an electric car due to the new battery offering greater range than a gas-powered car.

The Chinese company CATL , which dominates the global market for batteries for electric cars, has started mass production of the third generation of its flagship battery: the Qilin battery . This market-exclusive battery can provide a range of up to 1,000 km (in the CLTC cycle ) and recharge from 10% to 80% in just 10 minutes.

It has an energy density of up to 225 Wh/kg and a cell-to-pack (CTP) structure similar to the 4860 batteries that Tesla recently introduced in its Model Y. However, the Qilin battery is up to 13 % more efficient and will be available this year.

The first car to mount the Qilin battery will be the Zeekr 009

The revolutionary battery, which is named after a Chinese mythological being symbolizing good fortune, was introduced in June 2022 and was hailed as one of the best inventions of the year by TIME magazine, particularly for its ability to delivering record volume usage exceeding 72%.

Chinese media sources, such as The Paper , reported that the new CATL battery will be available in a few months, and the Zeekr 009 will be the first vehicle in the world to use it. The vehicle will be equipped with a 140 kWh Qilin battery offering a range of 822 km in the CLTC cycle.

However, it should be noted that this figure can be reduced by up to 20% in the WLTP cycle , despite the fact that the range of the car is relatively high for an MPV. The Zeekr 001 should be the first model to reach its full potential and achieve a maximum range of 1,000 km in the Chinese cycle.

In comparison, the average range of petrol cars is estimated at around 600 or 700 km, although this can vary depending on various factors such as driving style, topography, weather and vehicle condition.

Zekr 001

Other electric vehicle manufacturers such as AITO (backed by Huawei), Li Auto, Neta and Lotus (owned by Geely ), in addition to Zeeker , have announced that they will also offer models equipped with the latest CATL battery technology .

It is possible that these models will eventually be available on our market, which would be good news. Qilin battery delivers up to 13% more power than 4680 batteries, with the same chemistry and pack size.

It also features higher volumetric integration (72% vs. 63%), better thermal efficiency thanks to its innovative cooling system, and faster charging.

Source : CATL

Improvements in safety, useful life, efficiency and low-temperature performance are a consequence of Qilin's new battery case structure, which combines the chemistries of ternary and phosphate batteries. lithium iron ( LFP ).

This combination can affect the energy density of the battery, with density up to 255 Wh/kg for ternary cells and 160 Wh/kg for LFP cells, according to CATL.