China: CATL's solid-state EV battery to enter mass production in 2027

CATL’s prototype solid-state batteries have an impressive energy density of 500 Wh/kg, a 40 percent improvement over current lithium-ion batteries that typically reach 350 Wh/kg.

Aman Tripathi

CATL is developing solid-state batteries using a promising technology called the sulfide route. (Representational image)

SweetBunFactory/iStock

China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), a global leader in lithium-ion battery development and manufacturing, is significantly escalating its investment in all-solid-state battery technology.

A Chinese local media outlet, Late Post, has reported that the company aims to achieve small-scale volume production of its all-solid-state battery by 2027.

The company has reportedly invested heavily in research and development, with a dedicated team of over 1,000 people.

CATL’s research focuses on the sulfide route, a promising technology within the solid-state battery domain. The company has recently achieved a critical milestone by entering the trial production phase for 20 Ah samples.

According to the report, CATL’s current prototypes are impressive. They offer an energy density of 500 Wh/kg. To put that in perspective, this is an improvement of over 40% compared to existing lithium-ion batteries, which typically max out at around 350 Wh/kg.

However, sources indicate that charging speed and cycle life, which affect battery longevity, still need further refinement.

Earlier, in April this year, CATL unveiled its plans for developing solid-state batteries. The company employed a 1-9 scale to assess technology and manufacturing process maturity and positioned itself at level four at that time.

Moreover, it aims to reach the level of 7-8 by 2027, indicating the feasibility of small-batch production. However, mass production is still expected to be constrained by cost and other technological challenges.

The latest report has come to the fore just a few weeks after CATL launched its Freevoy Super Hybrid Battery, which aims to expedite the development of an advanced hybrid car range.

At the time of the launch, the EV battery producer stated that this “world first” hybrid vehicle battery could “achieve a pure electric range of over 400 kilometers [250 miles] and 4C superfast charging, heralding a new era for high-capacity EREV [extended range electric vehicles] and PHEV [plug-in hybrid electric vehicles] batteries.”

It also claimed that the Freevoy battery is capable of providing 175 miles of range with just 10 minutes of charging.

Interestingly, CATL is not the only player in the field of solid-state battery technology. Major automotive and battery companies, such as BYD, Toyota, and Samsung, are also aggressively pushing toward developing all-solid-state batteries.

In July, Samsung made big waves in the EV industry by revealing that its pilot solid-state battery production line is now operational. As per the company, its batteries could offer 600-mile range and will take just 9 minutes to get charged. Moreover, it promises a staggering battery lifespan of 20 years.

Prior to that, Toyota had unveiled its new solid-state battery technology, which claimed to reduce the weight, size, and cost of EV batteries by 50 percent.

However, despite the significant progress, challenges remain on the path to mass production. This suggests that initial applications of this technology may be confined to premium electric vehicles.

Nonetheless, the latest development by CATL signifies a pivotal step towards commercialization, indicating that the company has finalized its core battery solution and is transitioning to optimizing production processes.

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Aman Tripathi An active and versatile journalist and news editor. He has covered regular and breaking news for several leading publications and news media, including The Hindu, Economic Times, Tomorrow Makers, and many more. Aman holds expertise in politics, travel, and tech news, especially in AI, advanced algorithms, and blockchain, with a strong curiosity about all things that fall under science and tech.

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Aman Tripathi