The Chinese Catl battery giant will launch a sodium ion electric car battery, as well as a system to combine two battery technologies in the same car, he announced Monday at a conference in Shanghai. The world leader in the sector and the supplier of most of the main automotive brands (Tesla, Mercedes) said that he will soon offer his version of sodium ion batteries, a highly anticipated technology and already explored by Chinese or French Byd Tiamat.
Sodium ions allows to overcome the limitations related to the supply of cobalt and lithium, and offers more resistance to temperature changes, particularly the cold climate of certain Chinese regions that reduce autonomy, CATL leaders indicated. The series manufacture of these sodium ion batteries should begin in June 2025 for small starting batteries for heavy items, under the Naxtra brand, with the greatest advantage of starting in cold climate. Large electric and hybrid sodium car batteries must follow in December 2025.
Sodium batteries are “outside the laboratory” after 10 years of research and are “ready to be marketed,” welcomed the chief of Catl Robin Zeng.
They could quickly replace “half of the LFP (lithium, iron, phosphate) batteries in the market,” according to Catl leaders.
Although the electric cars industry has taken off with NMC battery technology (nickel, manganese, cobalt), more efficient, many manufacturers now go to LFP, more resistant and cheaper, while other emerging technologies.
This first series of sodium batteries promises a range of 500 kilometers for electric cars.
Batteries braking for customs tasks
A few hours before the opening of the Shanghai car show, Catl also launched the second generation of its “Shenxing” battery on Monday, which will equip 67 cars this year, for Chinese brands Zeekr, Nio or AVR. It promises 800 kilometers of autonomy and a very fast recharge, with 520 kilometers of autonomy returned to 5 minutes, more than its Chinese competitor Byd. The manufacturer has the development of battery exchange systems, such as his partner, to distribute their new technologies, their leaders said.
The heavy customs tasks established by the United States against China could stop them, on the contrary, increasing the price of pieces and cars. But Catl’s leaders did not want to comment on this commercial war. On January 7, the US Department of Defense also included Catl in a list of companies that, according to him, are affiliated with the Chinese Armed Forces. Catl had denied having participated in military activities.
The group also presented itself as its “main innovation” a double battery system that offers “more security”, especially autonomous cars, avoiding breakdown if one of the two batteries did not work the malfunction, according to the company’s technical director, Gao Huan. The production schedule for these double batteries, developed for five years, has not been specified. But an automotive brand already uses one in the design of an autonomous car, said Gao Huan.
Source: BFM TV
