The cell-to-pack (CTP) technology that CATL’s third-generation possesses allows for a single charge to provide a range of over 621 miles (1000 km).The next year will see CATL begin mass manufacturing of its Qilin product, which represents the company’s most recent generation of technology.
In addition to having a record-breaking volume utilization efficiency of 72 percent and an energy density of up to 416 kilojoules per pound (255 Wh/kg), Qilin achieves the highest integration level in the world that has been achieved up to this point. It was given its name after a legendary creature from Chinese mythology.
With the same chemical system and the same pack size, the Qilin battery is able to deliver 13 percent more power than the 4680 battery. This allows for an improvement in all aspects of the battery’s performance, including its range, its ability to charge quickly, its safety, its service life, its efficiency, and its ability to perform at low temperatures.
In Qilin, CATL has incorporated a thermal pad, a liquid-cooling plate, and an internal crossbeam into a multipurpose elastic interlayer.
The Qilin battery also has micron bridges built right into the interlayer. These bridges can easily adapt to any changes that occur within the cell, which results in an increase in the battery’s durability throughout the course of its entire life cycle. Building a more stable load-bearing structure perpendicular to the driving direction is one way that the integrated energy unit contributes to improving the battery pack’s resistance to shock and vibration. The cell and the multifunctional elastic interlayer are the two components that make up the integrated energy unit.
Ingenious design
The innovative bottom-sharing design that Qilin implemented enables the intelligent arrangement of various components, such as structural protection, high-voltage connection, and a protective vent for thermal runaway, which ultimately results in an increase of the battery capacity by an additional six percent. The CTP 3.0 battery, on the other hand, is compliant with the requirements of the battery safety tests that are mandated by national regulations. These tests include the bollard test.
Liquid cooling functional parts are placed between adjacent cells to cool the battery. This innovative large-surface cell cooling technology also increases the heat transfer area by four times, cuts the thermal control time in half, and supports a hot start in five minutes and fast charging in ten minutes. Additionally, it enables the cell to rapidly cool down when subjected to harsh conditions, which effectively prevents improper heat conduction between cells. In addition to this, it has achieved thermal stability as well as thermal safety for all of the chemical systems, which makes it compatible with materials that have a higher energy density.
Contemporary Amperex Technological Co. Limited (CATL), a technology firm that was created in 2011 in China as a battery manufacturer, specializing in the production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, as well as energy storage systems and battery management systems. CATL is a supplier of batteries to a number of firms, including Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, and Nio, among others.
CATL did not reveal whether any electric car manufacturers had placed orders for its new battery; nevertheless, they did not share this information.