CATL, the world’s leading battery manufacturer, has introduced a new electric vehicle battery pack with a remarkable 1.5 million kilometers (932,000 miles) and a 15-year warranty.
To put this into perspective, the average Australian passenger car drives less than 15,000 kilometers per year, meaning a 1.5-million-kilometre battery could last for around 100 years of typical driving.
CATL has partnered with Yutong Heavy Industries, which will utilize the long-lasting battery packs in their buses and heavy vehicles.
Yutong, one of China’s largest bus manufacturers, started its initial 10-year strategic partnership with CATL in 2012 to jointly develop commercial vehicle batteries while exploring new materials and technology.
CATL is by far the world’s largest lithium-ion battery manufacturer and has some impressive stats to match:
- R&D Team: CATL boasts a robust R&D team comprising 21,000 people.
- R&D Investment: The company spends a staggering US$2.5 billion on R&D annually.
- Quality Control: There are 7,500 quality control points along the production line.
- Error Rate: The error rate is an astonishingly low 1 error per 1 billion cells.
- Rigorous Testing: Batteries are subjected to extreme tests, including being placed on a BBQ and punctured with a nail, to ensure any damage is contained.
Versatile Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery
The new lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, designed for buses, light trucks, and heavy trucks, will be integrated into upcoming products from Yutong Bus and Yutong Heavy Industries.
Don Imrie, an electric bus industry expert, noted that the average metropolitan bus covers approximately 300 km per shift, meaning the 1.5 million km warranty would cover about 13 years of daily bus shifts.
Yutong stated that the long-life battery would experience zero degradation in the first 1000 cycles, maintaining the full capacity for the first half million kilometers.
According to Battery Technology Online (BTO), the system achieves a 30% increase in energy density while reducing the footprint of a station by 20%.
Unlike traditional lithium-ion batteries that use cobalt-based chemistries and pose safety risks, LFP batteries provide inherent stability and a lower risk of thermal runaway, making them superior for stationary energy storage applications.
The key to the cells’ extended lifespan is the pre-lithiation process, where extra lithium is added to the cell, filling the gaps that form during initial charging cycles and slowing overall degradation.
This results in a lifespan for LFP cells that is more than twice as long, with over 9,400 cycles before experiencing a 20% degradation.
Innovations and Enhanced Energy Storage
The new 1.5 million km warranty is the latest in a series of innovations from CATL. Last year, the company revealed plans to start mass production of a new “condensed” battery with an energy density of 500 Wh/kg, nearly doubling the capacity of the batteries currently used in Tesla vehicles.
These higher energy-density batteries and extended life cycles are ideal for heavy vehicles like buses and trucks, which cover extensive distances and carry heavy payloads.
In addition to enhancing energy density and lifespan, CATL has significantly reduced production costs over the past year.
Within two weeks, CATL made headlines again, unveiling a new stationary LFP battery designed to enhance grid flexibility and reliability.
The company introduced its TENER energy storage system, claiming it to be “the world’s first mass-producible energy storage system with zero degradation in the first five years of use,” maintaining full capacity and power, according to Battery Technology Online.
Cost Reductions and Global Impact
In January, CATL announced a remarkable 50% reduction in the cost per kWh of its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells, to be achieved by mid-2024.
The rapid decrease in battery costs has astonished technology analysts such as Tony Seba, who predicted a decade ago that such low costs would not be reached until 2027. Yutong’s buses are sold in over 40 countries, including Italy, France, the UK, Spain, and Qatar.
CATL’s batteries are utilised by various automakers, including Tesla, Ford, BMW, Toyota, Mercedes, and Kia. China is commanding the EV battery market, with BYD and CATL having more than half the market share. SNE Research reports that CATL nearly doubled its sales in the US and Europe last year.
One by one, the objections from the naysayers are being nullified. Cost, range, and battery performance will soon not be issues.
And this is before we’ve even mentioned the advent of sodium-ion and solid-state batteries—faster recharging, improved safety, greater capacity, and reduced mineral requirements.
