On August 16th, Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) launched the world's first 4C supercharged lithium iron phosphate battery, named Shenxing Supercharged Battery. Through positive electrode acceleration, graphite material innovation, ultra-high conductivity electrolyte formulation, multi-gradient layered electrode design, and other measures, this battery can achieve a charge in 10 minutes and a range of 400 kilometers.
By continuously optimizing on the system platform, CATL has incorporated cell temperature control technology, solving the challenge of fast charging lithium iron phosphate at low temperatures. It can evenly heat the cell to its optimal working temperature range even in -10°C environments, allowing it to charge up to 80% in 30 minutes.
Furthermore, CATL continues to break through the endurance limits of lithium iron phosphate. The Shenxing Supercharged Battery, based on the CTP3.0 which eliminates horizontal and vertical beams and end plates, has innovatively introduced an integrated grouping technology, strengthening the connection between the cell and the box, ensuring the structural strength of the entire pack, and achieving another breakthrough in structure. Its range reaches over 700 km.
How is this achieved technically?
In terms of positive electrode acceleration, the Shenxing Supercharged Battery uses ultra-electron net positive electrode technology, utilizing fully nanosized positive electrode materials, building a crisscross ultra-electron net, reducing the resistance of lithium-ion extraction, allowing for a quick response to charging signals.
For graphite material innovation, the battery adopts CATL's latest developed second-generation fast-ion ring technology, modifying the graphite surface, providing active sites required for lithium-ion exchange, increasing lithium-ion embedding channels and shortening the embedding distance, essentially building a highway for current conduction.
In electrolyte conduction, CATL developed a brand-new ultra-high conductivity electrolyte formula, effectively reducing the viscosity of the electrolyte, increasing the lithium-ion desolvation capability, unbinding lithium ions, and significantly improving conductivity. The optimization of the ultra-thin SEI film also effectively reduces resistance.
Additionally, the Shenxing Supercharged Battery uses a multi-gradient layered electrode design. By adjusting the porous structure's gradient distribution, it achieves a high porosity upper layer and a high-pressure solid structure lower layer, balancing high energy density with super-fast charging.
Of course, while enhancing performance, CATL never forgets about safety. For safety, the Shenxing Supercharged Battery modifies the electrolyte genes, effectively reducing the heat produced by the solid-liquid interface reaction. It also comes equipped with a high-safety coated separator, producing less heat and offering stronger heat resistance.
In terms of battery management, the battery, through intelligent algorithms, calculates and controls the global temperature field inside the cell in real-time. It aims to fully utilize the supercharged performance of the cell while paying attention to the safety boundaries during battery use.
Production by year-end, available next year.
According to official statements, the Shenxing Supercharged Battery will be mass-produced by the end of 2023 and will be officially installed in vehicles in the first quarter of next year.
This is attributed to CATL's manufacturing prowess. As a global leader in the battery industry, CATL possesses two of the world's only beacon factories in the lithium battery industry, setting high standards in both process quality and production efficiency.
Moreover, compared to regular batteries, supercharged batteries have more stringent manufacturing requirements, especially in coating and welding procedures. This undoubtedly tests CATL's manufacturing capabilities and technology.
In the coating process, where yield challenges are high, CATL has established a dynamic force model for coating lips and optimized hardware structures, ensuring continuity and stability at ultra-high speeds, significantly lowering the weight limit for coating, and meeting the manufacturing needs of ultra-high dynamic electrodes.
Furthermore, supercharging places stricter requirements on the electrical resistance of laser welding seams. Inadequate laser welding will significantly affect connection resistance. CATL has developed online spectral detection technology, which receives real-time visible light, laser reflection, and radiation signals during the laser welding process and converts them into digital signals for analysis. With this technology, CATL has achieved 100% inspection of virtual welding, with a missed detection rate of <1 PPb (a failure rate of one in a billion).
