19-05-2025
Meet CATL, the world's largest EV battery maker, powering the electric vehicle boom
Cutting-edge battery technologies
Above CATL's Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery can provide up to 800 km in range. (Photo: CATL)
In the race for battery dominance, CATL keeps on top of its competitors with its continuous innovations. Just after BYD announced its 1 megawatt fast-charging technology, CATL introduced its second-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging battery in April 2025 with an 800 km range and a peak charging power of 1.3 megawatts. This means that with a compatible charger, the new CATL battery can have a range of 520 km in 5 minutes, compared to BYD's 400 km. The Shenxing battery will be used in more than 60 EV models this year.
Above CATL's EV batteries are also widely used in light trucks, commercial vehicles and city buses. (Photo: CATL)
Also announced last month at the CATL Tech Day in Shanghai is the Naxtra sodium-ion battery, the first mass-produced battery of its type. The battery uses sodium as its main component, which is more abundant and cheaper to produce compared to other battery types that rely on more expensive raw materials, leading to lower production costs.
When Naxtra batteries arrive in the market at the end of the year, EVs will have around 500 km of range. The batteries also have the benefit of being safer and less prone to fire or explosion during a collision compared to traditional lithium-based batteries.
To address range anxiety, CATL also developed the Freevoy Dual-Power battery. The battery's dual power architecture means that a single battery can have a main energy zone and an extended range energy zone. This gives the battery a maximum energy storage capacity that's good for a 1,500 km range, making it comparable to a hybrid vehicle. A trade ware between superpowers
Because of geopolitical issues, not everything has been smooth sailing for CATL. In January 2025, the company was added to a United States Department of Defense (DoD) blacklist designating it as a 'Chinese Military Company'. CATL has released a statement that refutes this claim and said that it has 'never engaged in any military-related business or activities'. It also said that it would engage with the DoD to address the listing and take legal action if needed.
Above CATL's Smart Micro-grid Energy Storage Solution is designed as a charging station for EVs. (Photo: CATL)
CATL has also encountered legal and regulatory challenges with its push for overseas expansion in Europe and the US. In March 2025, the US Congress passed a bill that restricts the Department of Homeland Security from buying batteries from six Chinese-linked companies, including CATL, beginning October 2027. The bill intends to reduce dependency on batteries produced by countries deemed adversarial to the US. The bill is now under review by the US Senate.
After its IPO, CATL will definitely have its hands full as it rises to the challenge of developing the latest battery technology for passenger and commercial EVs and other industrial applications such as wide-scale energy storage solutions.
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