The world’s largest supplier of batteries for electric vehicles has announced a major breakthrough that could have huge ramifications for the auto industry.
Chinese manufacturer CATL said Monday that its latest advances will let it manufacture batteries that are lighter, cheaper, faster to recharge and more resistant to cold — all while providing greater driving range, according to The New York Times.
The company said the technology will allow an EV to charge enough for 320 miles of range, or 520 kilometers, with just five minutes of charging.
The technology is still several years away from being publicly available. When it is, it could make electric cars more competitive in price and performance with gasoline-powered models.
U.S.-traded shares of CATL rose 2.6% Monday morning on the news.
CATL produces one-third of the world’s electric batteries, The Times reports. It supplies 16 of the world’s biggest automakers, including Tesla (TSLA) and General Motors (GM).
The new CATL battery system, which the company touted during a news conference on Monday ahead of the Shanghai auto show, uses auxiliary batteries located in the car’s underbody instead of one large battery, which is what most EVs use. That battery uses less graphite, which is a major driver of car batteries’ high costs. Currently, batteries make up about one-third of the cost of electric vehicles.
Ouyang Chuying, CATL’s co-president for research and development, said the new battery technology would be available in two to three years and possibly sooner, according to the Times. He wouldn’t elaborate on which carmakers might be the first to use them.
Chinese manufacturer BYD (BYDDF), arguably CATL’s biggest rival and a key Tesla rival in China, in March unveiled a new charging system that can give cars 292 miles (470 kilometers) of range in five minutes. The company announced at the time that it planned to set up 4,000 charging stations, although he didn’t specify a timeline for doing so. BYD, which manufactures vehicles, sold more than 318,000 passenger vehicles in February, up 161% year-over-year.
CATL does not currently have its own car brand.
—William Gavin contributed to this article.
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