CATL presents an LFP battery enabling a 1,000-kilometre range

CATL only just presented the original Shenxing battery in August 2023, when a possible range of 700 kilometres was announced. Now, just eight months later, the battery-making giant and global market leader says its new battery, Shenxing Plus, has a range of 1,000 kilometres. The company explains that this comes from continuous technological breakthroughs.

CATL says its new battery is the world’s first LFP battery that achieves a range above 1,000 kilometres with 4C superfast charging, emphasised Gao Huan, Chief Technology Officer of CATL’s electric car division, when presenting the battery at the auto show in Beijing. Thanks to the Shenxing Plus, it should not only be possible to travel further on a single charge but also to commute for a month without recharging, he said.

CATL also points out in a press statement that cars with this new battery can take the electric car market to a new level in that an electric car can travel interstate and over longer distances. With this kind of range, so-called “range anxiety” just becomes a distant memory of a bygone era.

When the battery eventually does need recharging, the wait at the station can be minimal. The Plus version now presented is said to be able to recharge one kilometre of charge per second, enough energy for a range of 600 kilometres in ten minutes – in 2023, this stood at 400 kilometres.

This superlative aspect of the battery is due to the charging rate, which relates the energy content of the battery to the maximum charging power. This means that an 80 kWh battery pack, for example, could be charged with up to 320 kW.

According to CATL, the Shenxing Plus offers an energy density of 205 Wh/kg at system level. The company states, “The Shenxing PLUS battery pack has a topological structure optimized on top of module-free CTP 3.0 technology, enhancing the packing efficiency by 7%”. This high energy density for LFP cells was also achieved by further developing the nanotechnology introduced with the first Shenxing battery. “We make sure that every nanoparticle is in exactly the right place in the cathode,” explains CTO Gao Huan. This granular gradation technology places every nanometer particle in the optimal position. In 2023, CATL described the technology as a “fully nano-crystallized LFP cathode material” “to create a super-electronic network that facilitates the extraction of lithium ions and a fast response to charging signals”.

Also adding to the battery’s impressive energy density is the 3D honeycomb-shaped material that is added to the anode. This boosts the energy density while effectively controlling the volume expansion during charge and discharge cycles.

The new cell housing for the prismatic Shenxing Plus is another industry first. Made from a single piece, it optimises the installation space available for active materials in the cell. The cell housing is still so stable that the Shenxing Plus is suitable for cell-to-pack concepts.

In order to make use of the new batteries’ super fast charging capacities, CATL says it plans to launch the Shenxing superfast charging vehicle owners club. This is meant to operate in “over 600 service outlets covering 271 prefecture-level cities in 31 provincial-level regions” across China. The service comes with auto club-type services such as roadside rescue, battery inspection, maintenance and other services.

At the fringes of the trade fair in Beijing, CATL revealed that the existing Shenxing battery enabling a 700-kilometre range is currently being used in four series-production vehicles, but by the end of the year, Gao says this battery is to be used in over 50 models. The Chinese brands Avatr and Neta were the first customers – and later Chery and BAIC BJEV also announced their use. In the case of Chery, electric cars with this battery are also to be offered in Europe. It has also been confirmed that the 95 kWh LFP version of the facelift model of the Zeekr 001 uses CATL’s Shenxing battery – which already makes five production models.

In September last year, CATL revealed it is aiming to produce the fast-charging Shenxing battery in Europe, namely in Germany and Hungary. The battery maker’s Chief Engineer, Gao Pengfei, announced at the IAA Mobility that the European launch would follow once production begins in China by the end of 2023. It seems the battery-making giant was preoccupied with its latest superlative battery in China.

reuters.com, facebook.com (video of the CATL presentation),