CATL unveils its new battery tech that charges in five minutes, offers huge range but doesn’t cost a fortune

• CATL unveils second generation of its "Shenxing" fast-charging battery
• A five-minute charge can add over 320-miles of range
• The lithium-iron phosphate battery cells are cheaper than nickel-rich rivals

China’s EV giants are currently embroiled in a battery charging arms race, as the likes of BYD, Huawei, and Zeekr all recently announced that they had cracked 1MW charging speeds for five-minute battery top-ups.

CATL, which is the world’s largest EV battery manufacturer by a long way, has also joined in the competition, announcing that its next-generation 'Shenxing' LFP (lithium-ion phosphate) battery can add over 320 miles in just five minutes from the appropriate but currently thin-on-the-ground 1MW fast charging outlets.

Boasting that the batteries will feature in more than 67 new EVs due to arrive this year, CATL’s Chief Technology Officer, Gao Huan, said the goal is to make the Shenxing technology "the standard" for electric vehicles.

But alongside the company’s range-topping technology, it also announced a more energy-dense sodium battery, branded as Naxtra. This will deliver a range of over 300 miles, offering a much more affordable and safer option to current lithium and lead-acid-based batteries.

CATL says the technology achieves an energy density of 175Wh per kg, which puts it on par with many of today’s premium LFP battery packs found in the likes of BYD, Tesla, and Volvo products.

Plus, with an abundance of sodium, it reduces the reliance on rare earth materials, making it much cheaper to manufacture, and could therefore be introduced to more affordable, entry-level EVs in the future.

China continues to push EV tech forward

Alongside its more affordable, sodium-based batteries and ultra-fast charging packs, the company’s CTO also hinted at a new "dual-power" pack design, which would allow for two different battery chemical make-ups to run in parallel.

Although there was little in the way of real-world examples at the firm’s recent Tech Day in Shanghai, CATL stated that two lithium-ion units with nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cathodes could potentially offer a capacity of 180kWh - far eclipsing the 100 or so kWh touted by today’s costliest EVs.

This would effectively be able to power a small electric sedan for almost 950 miles before the battery packs run dry, practically doubling the range touted by some of the most advanced electric vehicles on sale today.

Of course, this sort of technology is going to be reserved for the wealthiest of CATL’s automotive clientele and embedded into premium models that the masses can only dream of affording.

But the company’s constant 'leveling up' of battery tech means that even the most basic technology it offers is now becoming more energy dense, safer, and faster to charge.

Could the days of lengthy charging stops and constantly interrupted electric road trips be soon behind us? Let's hope so.

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