Source: Securities Times
On March 22, according to Securities Times, Lithium batteries that are sufficient to support new energy vehicles with a cruising range of 1,000 kilometers have officially landed. CATL confirmed to reporters today that the Kirin battery released by the company last year has indeed been mass-produced.
1,000 kilometers of battery life, 10 minutes of fast charging
Simply describe the characteristics of Kirin battery, which are long battery range, fast charging, and space saving
According to the technical parameters provided by CATL, the volume utilization rate of Kirin battery can reach up to 72%, and the energy density can reach up to 255Wh/kg.
CATL also made a small comparison between the Kirin battery and competing products, saying that “under the same chemical system and the same battery pack size, the power of the Kirin battery pack is 13% higher than that of the 4680 system.” When receiving institution investment research recently, CATL also stated that the rectangular prism + Kirin battery solution is better than the cylindrical solution, with higher volume utilization and energy density, and its thermal management design can be equipped with more advanced fast-charging batteries.
The launch of Kirin battery is of great significance to the upstream and downstream of new energy vehicles. It directly solves the core pain point of pure electric vehicles – mileage anxiety. The upstream and downstream of the entire new energy vehicle market, such as the choice of battery manufacturers around various technical routes, the layout of car companies in pure electric, plug-in and extended range, and the downstream development of fast charging and battery replacement, are more or less related to solving consumers’ mileage anxiety.
Zhang Xiang, a visiting professor at the Yellow River Institute of Science and Technology, said in an interview with reporters that if it is true that the 1,000-kilometer battery life and 10-minute fast charge can be achieved, “it will definitely solve the problem of mileage anxiety among consumers.” Zhang Xiang further introduced that traditional fuel vehicles can support a range of 600 kilometers to 700 kilometers after refueling once. The 1,000-kilometer battery range means that electric vehicles can surpass fuel vehicles even if there is a certain mileage reduction.
At present, the battery range of 1,000 kilometers has become the benchmark for the development of car companies and battery manufacturers.
GAC Aian, NIO, Dongfeng, etc. have all announced that they will launch products with a battery range of more than 1,000 kilometers; The solid-state batteries being promoted by power battery manufacturers also aim to extend the cruising range to more than 1,000 kilometers. Zhang Xiang said that if the 1,000-kilometer battery range is promoted, the transitional new energy vehicle routes such as extended range and plug-in may be directly impacted.
CATL evaluated the value of Kirin battery in that it “enhances the competitiveness of new energy vehicles in battery range and convenience of energy replenishment, and consolidates the company’s leading position in the field of power battery system innovation.”
Being loaded and running on the road will be in the second quarter
The value of Kirin battery to CATL is not only on the product side, but also on the manufacturing side.
In terms of technical route, Kirin battery is the third-generation product of CATL on the CTP technical route. CTP (Cell-To-Pack) refers to the direct integration of batteries into battery packs, eliminating the need for battery module assembly and reducing manufacturing cost of power battery.
In the future, CATL may further improve Kirin battery in terms of materials.
When the company recently received institution investment research, it said that the innovation of material systems combined with the innovation of structural systems such as Kirin battery has a large room for development in the future.
After the Kirin battery, CATL is researching and developing the next-generation technology CTC (Cell-To-Chassis) along the CTP route, which integrates power battery cells, related components and chassis. This technology will further improve energy efficiency and reduce manufacturing costs of new energy vehicles. According to CATL, CTC will enable the cost of electric vehicles to directly compete with fuel vehicles.
However, if consumers want to experience Kirin batteries in person, they may have to wait another month or two.
The currently confirmed models that will be equipped with Kirin batteries are Jikrypton 009, Jikrypton 001 and AITO Wenjie series new cars. Among them, Jikrypton 001 will become the world’s first model equipped with Kirin’s 1,000-kilometer battery. The reporter learned from Jikrypton that the Jikrypton 001 thousand-kilometer battery range model is expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2023. The company once announced that the Jikrypton 001 thousand- kilometer battery range version is limited to 1,000 units.