Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) has shown its latest lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery at an auto show in Beijing. The Chinese company says it has an energy density of 205 Wh per kg, almost 8% higher than the current state of the art for such batteries.
Chinese battery manufacturer CATL presented its new Shenxing Plus LFP battery at the ongoing Auto China 2024 trade fair in Beijing.
CATL said it used special “granular gradation” technology in the manufacturing process for the cathode. It optimized the placement of each cathode particle and enhanced its energy density.
On the anode side, the developers used a special 3D honeycomb-like material to increase the surface area and energy density. The honeycomb material is also designed to moderate the expansion of the anodes during charging or discharging, ensuring stability.
The energy density is also higher due to the improved battery architecture. The battery housing, which consists of a single block, is adapted to the structure of the cells. This enabled CATL engineers to accommodate more storage capacity in the volume of the case.
CATL said the gravimetric energy density of the new product is 205 Wh per kg. By comparison, current LFP batteries achieve around 190 Wh per kg.
The Shenxing Plus can be loaded with a high C-rate of four. Charging at a C-rate of four would fully charge a 90 kWh battery in 15 minutes. This would require a charging capacity of 360 kW. The amount of energy required for a 4C charging process depends on the capacity of the battery. For example, a 100 kWh battery would require 400 kW of charging power.
CATL leaves the exact capacity of the battery undisclosed in its product presentation. However, the manufacturer said that it should be possible to charge the energy that would be necessary for a journey of 600 km within 10 minutes. This means that 1 km of range would be charged into the battery every second. A full charge for a range of 1,000 km can be purportedly achieved in 16.6 minutes.
The manufacturer used a number of technologies to make this possible, such as anodes and cathodes covered with different coatings for higher conductivity. The internal battery management system also uses artificial intelligence to predict the impact of high-current charging at the cell level.