December 6th, 2022
The world’s largest battery manufacturer, the Chinese company “CATL”, has reached another milestone with the “Qilin battery”. The development of the new type of lithium-ion battery pack for electric cars is said to have reached a completely unimagined dimension as early as 2023: a range of 1,000 kilometers and a charging time of 10 minutes seem within reach!
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Our studio guest Dr. Veronika Wright is a technical physics graduate engineer, electrification consultant and battery researcher. In this loaded episode, she explains an “Auto-Motor-Sport-Headline” from June 24th, 2022. There it says: “New super battery should create a range of 1,000 km”. dr Wright analyzes the core elements of the Qilin battery innovation: With a completely new cell architecture and revolutionary space-saving electronics, the manufacturer is able to store significantly more energy per volume than before. The new “cell-to-pack” design of approx. 255 Wh/kg at pack level was primarily achieved by using even less packaging material and accommodating more active material.
In addition, CATL has tried a new thermal management: The cells are actively cooled, so that the packs can be loaded much faster. Cooling elements are used next to each cell in the pack. dr In addition to the “Qilin” battery, Wright also explains a “modular battery swapping” promoted by CATL. In the case of electric cars, it will be possible to (only) carry parts of a conventional battery pack in a modular manner and to exchange these for custom-made packs in a matter of minutes – depending on daily needs and route planning.
Advantages of this approach: The e-car does not have to carry as much weight on short journeys. In addition, e-car owners would no longer be forced to buy the expensive battery themselves. With battery swapping, the customer only subscribes to access to a precisely fitting module and its quick installation. With “Battery Swapping”, CATL customers can save money on the one hand and move much more sustainably on the other. However, the e-car cannot be used as flexibly due to the limited ranges.
