For those who don't know, CATL is a Chinese company, and it is the largest battery manufacturer in the world. It makes more than twice as many batteries as second-placed LG.
CATL has announced not long ago that by 2023 it will put a new battery model on the market, which it has called Qilin , which substantially improves the results offered by current batteries that are placed in cars.
This new battery will have an energy density of 255 Wh/Kg., and the current Lithium-ion ones are around 100 Wh/Kg. The new doubles them in capacity, and therefore greatly increases the autonomy of the car.
With this new type of battery, current cars will be able to reach around 1,000 km of autonomy, and what is better, they can be recharged in just 10 minutes. Something that can change the electric car market, although they have not yet announced the estimated price of these new batteries.
Another feature of this new battery is that it incorporates a coolant with thermal control, so that the battery does not overheat when charging, and to achieve recharging times of between 10 and 5 minutes. Something that nobody has today.
It is clear that the characteristics that they announce are very good, but we will have to wait a while to see the "real" results of the batteries that leave the production line.
Today in the world of batteries a lot of research is being done and a lot of money is being invested, so that in the coming years new increasingly efficient models will be announced, and most importantly with a downward price trend.
Today, the battery is the most expensive part of an electric car. And we are not far from having electric cars with prices similar to those of current gasoline. This being something that can happen within the next 5 years.
At that point, the “problem” will be the ability of companies to make enough batteries to meet demand. Wonderful problem.
Not long ago I published a reflection on the 10 largest battery manufacturers in the world, which is dominated by Eastern countries, and especially China and South Korea.
Which indicates that Europe is out of the race to dominate battery technology, and the US almost out. No one can predict the future, but with China dominating the battery market and being the place in the world where the most electric cars are sold, it seems that it will continue to lead.
Another disruptive new battery technology that changes this situation is not ruled out, but it does not seem very likely either.
As always, time will tell.
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