CATL CTO: Users no longer have to worry about battery life, because supercharging can solve the pain point

As the world's largest power battery supplier, CATL recently released its 2023 third quarter report, with revenue increasing by 40% year-on-year and net profit attributable to shareholders increasing by 77% year-on-year, showing its super high growth rate. At the same time, CATL has also made breakthrough progress in technological innovation in the field of power batteries. Its world's first lithium iron phosphate 4C supercharger battery, the Shenxing supercharger battery, has reached cooperation intentions with many car companies and plans to mass-produce it by the end of this year and put it on the car in the first quarter of next year.

The Shenxing Supercharger is a high-performance, high-safety, and high-reliability battery product launched by CATL to address the energy replenishment anxiety of new energy vehicle users. It achieves the super-fast charging effect of "charging for 10 minutes and a range of 400 kilometers" through a variety of means such as positive electrode speed increase, graphite raw material innovation, ultra-high conductivity electrolyte formula, and multi-gradient layered pole piece design. At the same time, it also has excellent characteristics such as fast charging in the full temperature range, low temperature like room temperature, and a range of more than 700 kilometers, which solves the inherent defects of lithium iron phosphate batteries in low temperature performance and range.

According to Gao Huan, CTO of CATL's domestic passenger vehicle division, the ultimate goal of the Shenxing supercharger battery is to "enter the homes of ordinary people", so that supercharging is no longer exclusive to high-end users, but the main choice for mass users. He said that Shenxing is not equivalent to lithium iron phosphate batteries, and in the future, multiple different products will be deployed under the Shenxing brand to meet the needs of different car models in different segments of various car companies. He also hopes to form a perception that "when buying an electric car, you must look at the battery, and choose CATL for a good battery."

Gao Huan said that he was not worried that the Supercharger battery would have a market impact on another high-end product of CATL, the Kirin battery. He believed that the Kirin battery was a high-energy-density, high-performance battery product based on ternary lithium materials, which was mainly suitable for high-end models. The Supercharger battery, on the other hand, was a high-speed charging and discharging, high-safety battery product based on lithium iron phosphate materials, which was mainly suitable for mid- and low-end models. The two have their own advantages and positioning, and they will not compete directly.

In fact, in the new energy vehicle market, battery life is no longer the core pain point, but energy replenishment.

With the advancement of technology and the development of the market, the cruising range has been significantly improved. Currently, the cruising range of Wuling Bingo, which is positioned as a small car in the market, can reach more than 400 kilometers, and the mileage of medium and large models is generally positioned at 500-600 kilometers, and the top configuration can even reach more than 700 kilometers. The speed and convenience of recharging have become issues that users are more concerned about.

To solve this problem, the national and local governments are stepping up the construction and promotion of DC supercharging piles. In September this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China issued a new national standard for DC charging of electric vehicles, increasing the maximum charging current from 250 amperes to 800 amperes and the charging power to 800 kilowatts. Guangzhou City proposed to basically build a "supercharging capital" by 2024, and Shandong Province proposed that the proportion of public fast charging piles in urban areas should reach more than 70%, forming a "ten-minute fast charging circle." These measures have created favorable conditions for the popularization and application of supercharging batteries.

As a world-leading power battery supplier, CATL not only has a strong influence and competitiveness in the domestic market, but is also actively expanding overseas markets. In September this year, CATL brought the Shenxing Supercharger battery to the Munich Motor Show and announced that it will be quickly launched in Europe. It is reported that the European market has a strong demand for the Shenxing Supercharger battery. Many European OEMs hope to cooperate with CATL. The German Chancellor also paid great attention to and affirmed the Shenxing Supercharger battery.

The reason why CATL can maintain its leading position in the field of power batteries is inseparable from its continuous investment and innovation in technology research and development. According to data, CATL has invested more than 40 billion in research and development in the past six years, ranking first in the world for many consecutive years, and its R&D investment accounts for 5%-7% of its revenue. As of now, CATL has 18,000 R&D technicians, the fastest patent growth rate in the industry, and has applied for a total of 22,039 patents. In addition, according to the financial report just disclosed: In the first three quarters of 2023, CATL's R&D expenses were 14.876 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 40.65%.

91che believes that, in the context of pure electric vehicles now having a range comparable to that of fuel vehicles, the source of anxiety for many new energy vehicle owners has indeed shifted to the slow recharging speed of electric vehicles. And for some electric vehicles with a not-so-good range, supercharged battery technology with a recharging speed comparable to refueling can also greatly alleviate the owners' range anxiety. It should be said that the improvement of recharging speed is the inevitable direction of the development of the new energy vehicle industry, and in this regard, CATL has indeed been at the forefront of the industry.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.