Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion

NEWS: China's CATL today launched a new brand for its sodium-ion batteries, Naxtra, which it said would go into mass production in December, and a second generation of its fast-charging battery for EVs that can add 520 km (323 miles) of range in five minutes of charging. CATL: “We have achieved a breakthrough not only in terms of energy storage density and cost, but also found a new key to environmental protection.” The new battery has an energy storage density of 175 watt-hours per kilogram, nearly on par with the 185Wh per kg performance of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries that are currently used in most Chinese-made EVs. The company said its second-generation Shenxing battery is capable of ultra-fast charging in freezing temperatures. In a cold-weather demo, CATL showed a Shenxing-equipped electric car charging from 5% to 80% in 15 minutes at temperatures of minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit). CATL also teased a sodium-ion battery cell called Naxtra, which it said was more stable than traditional lithium-based batteries, and a series of dual-power batteries it said could equip EVs with up to 1,000km (621 miles) of range.