Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) has developed a battery that gives EVs a driving range of over 1,000 km or 621 miles on a single charge.
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About the company
The company is China’s leading automotive lithium-ion battery maker.
Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, and Nio are among the companies for which CATL supplies batteries.
Arriving next year
The battery, named Qilin, has a record-breaking volume utilisation efficiency of 72 percent and an energy density of up to 255 Wh/kg, giving it the highest integration level in the world so far.
The name Qilin comes from a legendary creature in Chinese mythology.
These batteries are expected to go into mass production and arrive on the market in 2023.
The technology
The battery is part of the third generation of cell-to-pack (CTP) technology which, by directly integrating cells into packs without modules, improves system energy density, simplifies manufacturing and helps reduce costs.
It also delivers 13 percent more power than the 4680 battery, thereby accomplishing improvements in service life, safety, charging speeds and low-temperature performance.
The product’s full-life-cycle reliability and resistance to shock and vibration are improved by the integrated energy unit.
This unit comprises the cell and a multifunctional elastic interlayer.
USPs
The battery boasts of thermal stability and safety.
The CTP 3.0 battery satisfies the criteria of safety tests required by national standards, such as the bollard test.
As a result it is compatible with materials of higher energy density in product upgrades.
In extreme circumstances, the cell can be cooled rapidly, thus preventing abnormal thermal conduction between cells.
Fire preventing technology
Qilin’s bottom sharing design allows the smart arrangement of various components including a protective vent for thermal runaway.
One might recall that thermal runaway was widely speculated to be a main cause behind the recent string of e-scooters catching fire in India..
Charging takes just 10 minutes in fast mode.