Latest news with #ShenxingSuperfastChargingBattery
France 24
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- France 24
China's EV battery maker CATL sees shares soar in Hong Kong debut
Chinese battery giant CATL, which soared on its Hong Kong debut Tuesday, is a domestic success story with a risk-taking founder and global ambitions -- but has found itself in the crossfire of a superpower clash for tech dominance. CATL -- whose shares are already traded in Shenzhen -- raised more than US$4.6 billion from its Hong Kong initial public offering, the world's largest so far this year. The company produced more than a third of all EV batteries sold worldwide in 2023, working with many major automotive brands including Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen. Its batteries offer some of the fastest charging speeds in the world -- this year, the firm said its Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery can add 520 kilometres (323 miles) of driving range after just five minutes of charging and withstand freezing temperatures. That's 30 percent faster than main competitor BYD's Super-e platform, which claims to deliver around 400 kilometres of range in five minutes. Founded in 2011, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited's success has been buoyed by strong policy support from Beijing, which has poured billions into clean energy in the past decade and pushed to ensure self-reliance in high-tech sectors viewed as strategically vital. Its cheap, ultra-fast batteries have also been cited as a key driver behind the rapid rise of the Chinese EV market, which is now the world's largest. It has also weathered a brutal price war between giants in the sector, with sales taking a hit as broader consumption in the country slumps. Powerhouse Billionaire CEO and founder Robin Zeng -- once dubbed China 's "battery king" -- is the country's fifth richest person and the world's 45th wealthiest, according to Bloomberg. The firm's name in Chinese pays tribute to his hometown, the coastal eastern city of Ningde. On his blog Interconnected, tech writer and investor Kevin Xu described Zeng's story as "classically rags to riches" in which he turned his "backwater town to a battery powerhouse". He describes Zeng as a risk-taker and a "gambler" who has deftly charted the firm through regulatory uncertainty and fierce competition from domestic rivals. But CATL has also found itself at the centre of a struggle between the United States and China for tech dominance. The superpowers are fighting for the upper hand in developing advanced technologies critical to the functioning of the modern economy, including batteries, computer chips and artificial intelligence. CATL's plans for a collaboration with car giant Ford on a US$3.5 billion plant in Marshall, Michigan, drew national security concerns last year. And in January, the United States defence department released a list that designated CATL as a "Chinese military company". The firm has denied engaging in military activities, and Beijing has denounced the move as "suppression". Proceeds from the firm's IPO could be used to ramp up its plans for overseas expansion -- particularly in Europe. It is currently constructing its second factory on the continent in Hungary after opening its first in Germany in January 2023. 'Thrive under pressure' And the firm said in December that it would work with Stellantis -- which also owns the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and RAM truck brands -- to make EV batteries in Spain, with production slated to begin by the end of 2026. It has even signed deals as far afield as the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it signed an agreement in 2021 with one of the world's largest cobalt producers to develop a mine. And in Bolivia, its subsidiary CBC signed a US$1 billion deal last year to build two lithium carbonate production plants in the country's southwest. CATL is aiming to pre-empt shifting trends in the EV sector, launching last month a sodium-ion battery, viewed as a cheaper and safer alternative to the lithium-ion batteries that are widely used in both electronics and EVs but pose a fire risk if damaged. "CATL became CATL because the government helped, but not so much that it became lazy," investor Xu wrote. "Competition... also helped, battle-testing its technology and supply chain, but not before it got a leg up from the protectionist subsidies first," Xu said. "Most intriguingly, it got an innate but prodigious gambler at the helm, who was born too poor to ever feel loss aversion... astute enough to read government policy tea leaves and paranoid enough to always thrive, not die, under pressure."
Tatler Asia
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Tatler Asia
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. NOW READ BYD's megawatt charger promises lightning fast EV charging Mercedes just launched its first all-electric Mercedes-Maybach SUV in Malaysia Chinese EV brands to watch out for
Korea Herald
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- Korea Herald
Naxtra Battery Breakthrough & Dual-Power Architecture: CATL Pioneers the Multi-Power Era
NINGDE, China, April 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 21, 2025, CATL unveiled three groundbreaking EV battery products at its inaugural Super Tech Day: The Freevoy Dual-Power Battery, Naxtra - the world's first mass produced sodium-ion battery, and the second-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery, as well as an integrated 24V start/stop Naxtra battery for heavy-duty trucks. These revolutionary innovations break through technological boundaries, and officially lead the industry into the "Multi-Power Era". The Freevoy Dual-Power Battery introduces a pioneering cross-chemistry system design that transcends the limitations of single technology paths to meet customized user needs. Naxtra, the world's first mass-producible sodium-ion battery, breaks resource constraints and strengthens the foundation of the new energy industry. The second-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery, with its peak 12C charging rate, sets a new global record for superfast charging technology. Naxtra Battery: Breaking Performance Limits, Powering the Future of Energy CATL's Naxtra Battery breaks through the performance boundaries of the material itself, achieving the mass production of sodium-ion batteries for the first time. With sodium's inherent safety and abundant reserves, it efficiently reduces dependence on lithium resources and strengthens the foundation of new energy technologies, while promoting energy utilization from "single resource dependence" to "energy freedom". The Naxtra Battery product line includes two categories: the Naxtra passenger EV Battery and the Naxtra 24V Heavy-Duty Truck Integrated Start-Stop Battery. Both are capable of performing across the full temperature range from -40°C to +70°C, redefining the extreme temperature limitations of batteries. The Naxtra passenger EV Battery retains 90% usable power at -40°C. In an extremely low state of charge with only 10% SOC remaining, the Naxtra passenger EV Battery can still achieve no significant power degradation at a temperature of -40 ℃. CATL's Naxtra passenger EV Battery achieves an energy density of 175Wh/kg, the highest among sodium-ion batteries worldwide, and comparable to LFP batteries. It offers a 500-kilometer range and can achieve over 10,000 cycles, which significantly reduces maintenance costs. In terms of safety, the Naxtra Battery eliminates combustion-supporting factors at the material level, thus achieving a transformative breakthrough from "passive defense" to "intrinsic safety". CATL's Naxtra 24V Heavy-Duty Truck Integrated Start-Stop Battery boasts over 8 years of service life. It reduces total lifecycle costs by 61% compared to traditional lead-acid batteries. This product offers unique advantages including deep discharge across the entire capacity, one-click starting at -40°C, and the ability to start after being idle for a year. Compared to lead-acid batteries, it is more efficient, eco-friendly, and economical, driving commercial vehicles into a lead-free era where vehicle and battery ages as one. This significant breakthrough made by CATL in the performance of sodium-ion batteries has filled the gap in the application of batteries in extremely cold environments. The performance breakthrough of sodium-ion batteries is a key development in the full scenario application of batteries. Thus, CATL's Freevoy Dual-Power Battery has emerged. Freevoy Dual-Power Battery: Ushering in the Multi-Power Era of Energy Freedom The Freevoy Dual-Power is a breakthrough product that deeply integrates CATL's dual-power architecture and self-forming anode technology. The dual-power architecture means that the battery pack has two powerful "independent energy zones," which enables five dual functions: dual high-voltage, dual low-voltage, dual structure, dual thermal management, and dual thermal runaway safety protection, ensuring the continuity, stability and safety of power output. This dual-power design and innovative integration of software will provide a more stable and reliable power supply for vehicles in the upcoming L3 and L4 autonomous driving era. The "self-forming anode technology" represents a disruptive breakthrough at the atomic level, meaning the volumetric energy density of the battery can increase by 60%, and the gravimetric energy density by 50%. This also means that more power can be engineered into the same battery pack space, supporting longer range. This technology can be flexibly paired with various material systems, and when combined with NCM systems, the energy density can be increased to over 1000Wh/L. The "dual-electric range extension" technology pioneered by the Freevoy Dual-Power Battery can intuitively regulate the allocation strategy of two energy zones based on the vehicle's driving status and users' driving habits. The main energy zone of the dual-power battery can use different chemical systems of battery cells according to the users' driving habits and scenarios, meeting daily driving needs; The extended range energy zone can adopt high specific energy self-forming anode technology to provide greater capacity to meet users' long-distance travel needs. Three dual-power solutions across different chemical systems were released on site: CATL's Freevoy Dual-Power EV Battery puts users' needs at its center, enabling different chemical systems to "collaborate and complement each other" and overcoming the technical bottlenecks that prevent single chemical systems from adapting to all scenarios. This makes customized battery performance possible across different cost segments and application scenarios. The innovative architecture from dual power to multi power will not be limited to the field of electric passenger vehicles, but will also be implemented in all fields such as electric buses, heavy-duty trucks, airplanes, ships, as well as industrial and commercial applications, accelerating the industrialization of renewable energy across all scenarios. At the same time, it will also accelerate the application process of cutting-edge technologies such as solid-state batteries. Second-Generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery: Setting New Global Records CATL launched its Shenxing 4C Superfast Charging Battery in 2023, ushering in the era of superfast charging. The release of CATL's second-generation Shenxing Battery once again pushes the limits of superfast charging performance and sets new world records for charging rates. CATL's second-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery is the world's first LFP battery featuring both an 800 km range and a 12C peak charging rate. With a peak charging power of 1.3 MW, it achieves 2.5 kilometers of range per second of charging, virtually eliminating the frustration of waiting. In low-temperature environments of -10°C, the second-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery can charge from 5% to 80% SOC in just 15 minutes, 100% faster than the industry's highest current charging level. Additionally, CATL's second-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery provides robust power across all temperature ranges and states of charge. Even in a low-charge state, it maintains an output power of 830kW. In the demanding environment of -10°C with low charge, it can still easily meet the power requirements for 0-100km/h acceleration. The essence of multi-power batteries means bringing power batteries from the "parameter driven" stage to the "demand driven" stage. CATL is constantly exploring and breaking through the boundaries of technology, ushering in the multi-power era in the new energy industry - a truly user centric era.
Associated Press
21-04-2025
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Naxtra Battery Breakthrough & Dual-Power Architecture: CATL Pioneers the Multi-Power Era
NINGDE, China, April 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 21, 2025, CATL unveiled three groundbreaking EV battery products at its inaugural Super Tech Day: The Freevoy Dual-Power Battery, Naxtra - the world's first mass produced sodium-ion battery, and the second-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery, as well as an integrated 24V start/stop Naxtra battery for heavy-duty trucks. These revolutionary innovations break through technological boundaries, and officially lead the industry into the 'Multi-Power Era'. The Freevoy Dual-Power Battery introduces a pioneering cross-chemistry system design that transcends the limitations of single technology paths to meet customized user needs. Naxtra, the world's first mass-producible sodium-ion battery, breaks resource constraints and strengthens the foundation of the new energy industry. The second-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery, with its peak 12C charging rate, sets a new global record for superfast charging technology. Naxtra Battery: Breaking Performance Limits, Powering the Future of Energy CATL's Naxtra Battery breaks through the performance boundaries of the material itself, achieving the mass production of sodium-ion batteries for the first time. With sodium's inherent safety and abundant reserves, it efficiently reduces dependence on lithium resources and strengthens the foundation of new energy technologies, while promoting energy utilization from 'single resource dependence' to 'energy freedom'. The Naxtra Battery product line includes two categories: the Naxtra passenger EV Battery and the Naxtra 24V Heavy-Duty Truck Integrated Start-Stop Battery. Both are capable of performing across the full temperature range from -40°C to +70°C, redefining the extreme temperature limitations of batteries. The Naxtra passenger EV Battery retains 90% usable power at -40°C. In an extremely low state of charge with only 10% SOC remaining, the Naxtra passenger EV Battery can still achieve no significant power degradation at a temperature of -40 ℃. CATL's Naxtra passenger EV Battery achieves an energy density of 175Wh/kg, the highest among sodium-ion batteries worldwide, and comparable to LFP batteries. It offers a 500-kilometer range and can achieve over 10,000 cycles, which significantly reduces maintenance costs. In terms of safety, the Naxtra Battery eliminates combustion-supporting factors at the material level, thus achieving a transformative breakthrough from 'passive defense' to 'intrinsic safety'. CATL's Naxtra 24V Heavy-Duty Truck Integrated Start-Stop Battery boasts over 8 years of service life. It reduces total lifecycle costs by 61% compared to traditional lead-acid batteries. This product offers unique advantages including deep discharge across the entire capacity, one-click starting at -40°C, and the ability to start after being idle for a year. Compared to lead-acid batteries, it is more efficient, eco-friendly, and economical, driving commercial vehicles into a lead-free era where vehicle and battery ages as one. This significant breakthrough made by CATL in the performance of sodium-ion batteries has filled the gap in the application of batteries in extremely cold environments. The performance breakthrough of sodium-ion batteries is a key development in the full scenario application of batteries. Thus, CATL's Freevoy Dual-Power Battery has emerged. Freevoy Dual-Power Battery: Ushering in the Multi-Power Era of Energy Freedom The Freevoy Dual-Power is a breakthrough product that deeply integrates CATL's dual-power architecture and self-forming anode technology. The dual-power architecture means that the battery pack has two powerful 'independent energy zones,' which enables five dual functions: dual high-voltage, dual low-voltage, dual structure, dual thermal management, and dual thermal runaway safety protection, ensuring the continuity, stability and safety of power output. This dual-power design and innovative integration of software will provide a more stable and reliable power supply for vehicles in the upcoming L3 and L4 autonomous driving era. The 'self-forming anode technology' represents a disruptive breakthrough at the atomic level, meaning the volumetric energy density of the battery can increase by 60%, and the gravimetric energy density by 50%. This also means that more power can be engineered into the same battery pack space, supporting longer range. This technology can be flexibly paired with various material systems, and when combined with NCM systems, the energy density can be increased to over 1000Wh/L. The 'dual-electric range extension' technology pioneered by the Freevoy Dual-Power Battery can intuitively regulate the allocation strategy of two energy zones based on the vehicle's driving status and users' driving habits. The main energy zone of the dual-power battery can use different chemical systems of battery cells according to the users' driving habits and scenarios, meeting daily driving needs; The extended range energy zone can adopt high specific energy self-forming anode technology to provide greater capacity to meet users' long-distance travel needs. Three dual-power solutions across different chemical systems were released on site: CATL's Freevoy Dual-Power EV Battery puts users' needs at its center, enabling different chemical systems to 'collaborate and complement each other' and overcoming the technical bottlenecks that prevent single chemical systems from adapting to all scenarios. This makes customized battery performance possible across different cost segments and application scenarios. The innovative architecture from dual power to multi power will not be limited to the field of electric passenger vehicles, but will also be implemented in all fields such as electric buses, heavy-duty trucks, airplanes, ships, as well as industrial and commercial applications, accelerating the industrialization of renewable energy across all scenarios. At the same time, it will also accelerate the application process of cutting-edge technologies such as solid-state batteries. Second-Generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery: Setting New Global Records CATL launched its Shenxing 4C Superfast Charging Battery in 2023, ushering in the era of superfast charging. The release of CATL's second-generation Shenxing Battery once again pushes the limits of superfast charging performance and sets new world records for charging rates. CATL's second-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery is the world's first LFP battery featuring both an 800 km range and a 12C peak charging rate. With a peak charging power of 1.3 MW, it achieves 2.5 kilometers of range per second of charging, virtually eliminating the frustration of waiting. In low-temperature environments of -10°C, the second-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery can charge from 5% to 80% SOC in just 15 minutes, 100% faster than the industry's highest current charging level. Additionally, CATL's second-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery provides robust power across all temperature ranges and states of charge. Even in a low-charge state, it maintains an output power of 830kW. In the demanding environment of -10°C with low charge, it can still easily meet the power requirements for 0-100km/h acceleration. The essence of multi-power batteries means bringing power batteries from the 'parameter driven' stage to the 'demand driven' stage. CATL is constantly exploring and breaking through the boundaries of technology, ushering in the multi-power era in the new energy industry - a truly user centric era. View original content: SOURCE Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL)
