CATL has announced a new type of battery cell that exhibits no degradation after 1,000 cycles. The cells, which will be initially utilized by bus manufacturer Yutong, owe their extended lifespan to a technique known as pre-lithiation. This innovation has led CATL to offer a one-million-mile guarantee or 15 years for this battery cell.
LFP cells, while having a lower energy density than their nickel-based counterparts, are becoming increasingly popular in the automotive industry due to their safety, resilience, and cost-effectiveness. The latest CATL cells, named Shenxing, not only boast a higher energy density but also offer shorter charging times.
The most notable feature of these new battery cells is their lack of degradation after 1,000 cycles. This has given CATL the confidence to provide a 1.5-million km (932,000 miles) 15-year warranty on the battery pack. Yutong, one of China’s largest bus makers, is the first to incorporate these new battery cells into its electric buses.
The secret behind the cells’ longevity lies in the process of pre-lithiation, which involves adding additional lithium to the cell. This added lithium fills the gaps that appear in the initial charging cycles, compensating for the rapid degradation during this period. The degradation process is also slower with pre-lithiation, with the projected lifespan of the LFP cells using pre-lithiation being more than double, with over 9,400 cycles before reaching a 20% degradation.
The announcement from CATL has sparked curiosity among industry analysts, who are intrigued by the possibility of a battery not experiencing degradation after the first 1,000 cycles. This is a significant departure from the norm, as regular LFP cells are expected to lose about 10% of capacity after 1,000 cycles.
“Nothing beats a million-mile battery, except maybe a million-mile battery that is dirt cheap,” said a representative from CATL
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