CATL introduced its lithium-based condensed battery at the Auto Shanghai expo, with an energy density of “up to 500 Wh/kg”. The cells with the highest known density were those of Amprius 450 Wh/kg… and the 4,680 cells of a Tesla Model Y battery have 244 Wh/kg, to put you in context.
Undoubtedly, an important advance for electric cars… and also for zero-emission aviation, since weight would be kept at bay. But what is really interesting is that CATL says that “it is ready to go into mass production of this condensed battery.”
When they became available, lithium batteries pushed sectors such as touch screen phones, laptops… but above all drones and electric vehicles with long autonomy between charges. Advantages of containing much more energy by weight than other chemicals. Storing more energy allows things to be used longer or to be lighter. The more energy per kg of battery stored, the better. And CATL claims to be marking the new reference figure.
How do they do that? Complex. CATL says these new batteries feature innovations in “ultra-high energy density cathode materials, innovative anode materials, separators, and manufacturing processes.” Look at this: “highly conductive biomimetic condensed-state electrolytes to build a micron-level self-adaptive network structure that can fine-tune the interactive forces between strands.” Translated: which improves performance, efficiency and stability.
Apart from the specific energy data and bombastic press release, the company hasn’t said much. They don’t say a word about what these cells will offer in terms of energy density per volume, or power density. CATL says they will offer “excellent upload and download performance, as well as good security performance.” They weren’t going to say otherwise, of course.
The company indicates that it has partnered with manufacturers of electric aircraft, seeking to meet aeronautical quality and safety standards. This breakthrough will be of great interest to anyone developing an electric plane, as long as the cells can generate enough power. Be careful, for commercial aviation there is still a long way to go (densities of between 800-900 Wh/Kg would be needed), although the physical limit is several kWh/Kg.
Interestingly, CATL expects to put an automotive grade version of this battery into mass production before the end of the year. And it is that in recent years next-generation battery technologies have been announced that promise enormous density figures, but almost none reach the product stage. So it’s exciting to hear that these are likely to start being manufactured in large numbers in the coming months.
Source: CATL
