Battery maker CATL launched a new superfast charging battery that can charge from 20 to 80% in 10 minutes. It claimed at a launch in Beijing that the Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery is the “world’s first” LFP battery with 4C charging.
Gao Huan, CTO of CATL’s China e-car business, told his audience the battery can deliver a 400 km range with a 10-minute charge. It can achieve an 80% charge in 30 minutes at -10°C. A single charge will offer a range of 700 km, he claimed.
He said the company is leveraging cathode technology to accelerate the extraction of lithium ions from the cathode. A fully nano-crystalised LFP cathode creates a “super electronic network” in all directions to extract the lithium ions and create a rapid response to charging signals.
The graphite surface is modified and increases the number of intercalation pathways and shortens the intercalation distance for lithium ions. That creates an expressway for current conduction, he said.
CATL created a multi-layered electrode design and a new “superconducting” electrolyte formula which improves conductivity and reduces viscosity, which it claimed enhances the desolvation of lithium ions.
Huan said they improved the ultra-thin SEI film to reduce resistance and ensure smooth penetration of lithium ions.
For the separator, they lowered the transmission of the lithium ions with high porosity and shortened transmission distance. It has a new coating to reduce heat generation and improve heat resistance, he added.
A fault-finding system picks up every abnormality to achieve PPB-level safety, he said. The electrolyte has been improved to reduce heat generation at the solid-liquid interface.
The battery management system carries out real-time calculations and control of the temperature inside the battery cells. That ensures optimal charging and safe battery operation, he said.
The battery passed over 400 verification points which he said ensures “impeccable safety performance”.
CATL expects to achieve mass production by the end of this year, and the battery will be in EVs on the market in Q1 2024.
Presently only an option for high-end EVs, improved technology and lower costs will eventually make it available as a standard product for every EV.
He claimed CATL’s battery cell defect rate has reached a level of one defect per billion, which is well ahead in the industry. CATL is willing to cooperate with upstream and downstream partners to jointly accelerate production of superfast charging technology, he said.
