CATL battery advances

Electric car batteries store energy in chemical layers, and the tradeoff has usually been simple: charge faster, go farther, or cut costs — but not all three at once. CATL said on April 21 in Beijing it has a new lineup aimed at pushing on all three limits at the same time. (prnewswire.com) CATL, the world’s largest electric-vehicle battery maker, used its Super Technology Day to unveil six products: a third-generation Shenxing fast-charging battery, a third-generation Qilin battery, a condensed-matter Qilin variant, a second-generation Freevoy hybrid battery, a Naxtra sodium-ion battery, and a combined charging-and-swap system. Reuters reported the event in Beijing as CATL’s latest effort to defend its lead against rivals including BYD. (prnewswire.com; msn.com) The headline number came from Shenxing: CATL said the new lithium iron phosphate pack can add 520 kilometers of range in five minutes, and one company demo showed charging from 10% to 80% in 6 minutes 27 seconds at normal temperatures. CATL also said the battery supports peak charging power above 1.3 megawatts. (prnewswire.com; msn.com) Sodium-ion batteries swap some lithium for sodium, a more abundant material that battery makers have pitched as cheaper and more stable in cold weather. CATL said its Naxtra passenger-car battery can deliver about 500 kilometers of range, and Electrek reported the company is targeting launches in passenger vehicles later in 2026. (electrek.co; prnewswire.com) That matters because lithium iron phosphate batteries already dominate the lower-cost end of the electric-car market, while nickel-rich chemistries still chase longer range. A sodium-ion option gives automakers another sourcing path if lithium prices spike again or if cold-weather performance becomes a bigger selling point. (catl.com; electrek.co) CATL has been building toward this for three years. It introduced the first Shenxing fast-charging battery in August 2023 with a claim of 400 kilometers added in 10 minutes, then unveiled Shenxing Plus in April 2024 with a claimed range above 1,000 kilometers. (catl.com; catl.com) The sodium-ion push has also moved from lab talk to vehicle programs. CATL and Changan said on February 5, 2026, they unveiled what they called the first mass-production passenger vehicle using sodium-ion batteries, with market launch planned for mid-2026. (catl.com) CATL paired the new cells with infrastructure promises. The company said it is building what it calls a fully integrated network that combines ultra-fast charging with battery swapping, a model meant to cut waiting time by either pumping power into the pack or replacing the pack entirely. (prnewswire.com) The catch is that launch-stage battery claims do not automatically translate into mass-market cars, because automakers still have to package the packs, certify them, and find charging hardware that can actually deliver the advertised power. CATL’s next test is no longer the demo stage in Beijing; it is whether these cells show up in production vehicles on the timelines the company has set. (prnewswire.com; catl.com)