World’s largest battery maker pronounces main breakthrough in power density
In one of the vital battery breakthroughs in recent times, the world’s largest battery producer CATL has introduced a brand new “condensed” battery with 500 Wh/kg which it says will go into mass manufacturing this 12 months.
“The launch of condensed batteries will usher in an period of common electrification of sea, land and air transportation, open up extra prospects of the event of the trade, and promote the attaining of the worldwide carbon neutrality objectives at an earlier date,” the corporate mentioned in a presentation at Auto Shanghai on Thursday.
CATL’s new condensed battery may have nearly double the power depth of Tesla’s 4680 cells, whose ranking of 272-296 Wh/kg are thought-about very excessive by present requirements.
CATL chief scientist Wu Kai says the condensed battery integrates a spread of revolutionary applied sciences, together with the ultra-high power density cathode supplies, revolutionary anode supplies, separators, and manufacturing processes, providing wonderful cost and discharge efficiency in addition to good security efficiency.
He says the brand new know-how breaks the bounds which have lengthy restricted the event of the battery sector and can open up a brand new period of electrification centred on excessive security and light-weight weight.
Through the presentation, CATL mentioned its working with companions on the event of electrical passenger plane working towards aviation-level requirements and testing in accordance with aviation-grade security and high quality necessities.
Along with plane, CATL says it should quickly launch the automotive-grade model of condensed batteries which it says can even go into mass manufacturing inside this 12 months.
Batteries with 500 Wh/kg will allow electrification of passenger plane
In 2020 Elon Musk mentioned “electrical flight begins to get attention-grabbing when you hit 400wh/kg”. On the time he predicted that this would become possible by 2023.
400 Wh/kg *with* excessive cycle life, produced in quantity (not only a lab) is just not far. In all probability 3 to 4 years.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 24, 2020
The announcement this week confirms and even exceeds Musk’s prediction that this degree of power density could be commercially presumably by now.
Earlier this month Argonne announced a new battery technology with an energy density of 1200 Wh/kg though that know-how is just not but prepared for bas manufacturing.
“With additional growth, we anticipate our new design for the lithium-air battery to additionally attain a file power density of 1200 watt-hours per kilogram,” mentioned Argonne scientist Larry Curtiss. “That’s almost 4 instances higher than lithium-ion batteries.”
Whereas there have been many high-density battery breakthroughs in latest months, many of those applied sciences are solely of their infancy and can take a few years to achieve mass manufacturing (in the event that they ever obtain it in any respect).
What makes CATL’s announcement this week actually groundbreaking is that the condensed battery will go into mass manufacturing this 12 months.
Daniel Bleakley is a clear know-how researcher and advocate with a background in engineering and enterprise. He has a robust curiosity in electrical autos, renewable power, manufacturing and public coverage.