CATL and BYD to Launch New Battery Products in the Second Half of the Year
TapTechNews June 13 news, according to 36Kr Automobile's report last night, CATL plans to launch the second-generation product of Kirin Battery - a power battery with a charging rate of 6C in the second half of the year. At the same time, BYD, which hasn't released a new battery product for three years, is also brewing to launch a fast-charging battery product: Sources close to BYD revealed that BYD's second-generation blade battery may be launched in the second half of this year, and BYD's 6C battery is also under research and development.
TapTechNews note: C refers to the charging rate. Theoretically, if a power battery supports a certain number of C charging rates, it can be fully charged in a fraction of an hour. In the actual charging process, it is generally based on the peak rate as the standard - if the maximum peak rate in the charging process reaches a certain number of C, it can be called a certain number of C super-charging.
Industry insiders analyzed that in order to achieve a 6C charging rate and take into account a higher energy density, it is not excluded to use a hybrid material system of iron lithium and ternary, This is a new direction in the industry.
Reports mentioned that from the 3C on-board in 2022 to the 4C and 5C launched in 2023, now, electric vehicles are advancing to the 6C era. This means that manufacturers not only have to start improving at the cell material level, but also need to upgrade at the battery system level.
In terms of materials, fast-charging batteries not only need to be matched with fast-charging graphite, electrolytes and diaphragms suitable for fast-charging, but also the basic lithium iron phosphate material and ternary materials can be mixed and used to balance the performance.
In terms of thermal management, since the higher the charging rate and the more heat generated by the battery, a more powerful cooling system is needed for fast-charging batteries to suppress the temperature and ensure safety. Specifically, CATL's Kirin Battery architecture has a large-area water-cooling technology, and BYD will adopt a refrigerant direct cooling and direct heating approach.
On the other hand, the supporting super-fast charging energy supplement facilities are still absent. There is no unified definition of super-charging in the electric vehicle industry. The industry generally refers to the charging pile with a power of more than 120kW as a super-charging pile. If the super-charging is raised to a charging rate of 4C or even 5C, the charging power needs to reach more than 360kW, and the maximum charging power of the 4C super-charging pile is 480kW, and the maximum charging current is 615A. Therefore, the charging pile is still one of the key factors restricting the application of super-charging.
Not only these two leading enterprises, but also Zhongchuangxinhang said at the end of last year that the company will mass-produce 46-series large cylindrical batteries that support a 6C charging rate in the fourth quarter of this year, and the 5C battery that can replenish 80% of energy in 10 minutes of charging will also be mass-produced and installed in vehicles in 2024.