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Chinese power battery giant CATL’s CTP (cell to pack) 3.0 Qilin Battery will be ready for mass production and shipments by the end of this year, earlier than previously announced announced 2023, local media outlet The Paper reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The first production batteries will be loaded on the Zeekr 009, the first MPV of Geely’s premium electric vehicle (EV) brand Zeekr, in the first quarter of next year, the report said.
Qilin Battery will cost more than CATL’s CTP 2.0 packs, which are currently in mass production, according to The Paper report, primarily due to the use of a high nickel formulation for the cathode and the extensive use of water-cooled plates in the pack’s construction.
The price of a Qilin Battery-equipped model is likely to exceed 400,000 yuan ($57,300), which could be a challenge for the battery in widespread use in the future, the report said.
The CTP 3.0 Qilin Battery has a versatile flexible sandwich design compared to the CTP 2.0 technology and requires a new production line to produce the cell blocks for the pack.
The machines and equipment used to produce CTP 2.0 packs cannot be used directly to produce this new battery, also becoming another challenge for Qilin Battery mass production, the report said.
CATL unveiled the Qilin Battery on June 23, saying the technology allows for a record-breaking 72% volume utilization, making it the highest integrated battery in the world. The battery can reach an energy density of 255 Wh/kg, easily allowing vehicles to achieve a range of 1,000 kilometers, CATL had said.
On August 27, CATL announced that Zeekr’s upcoming Zeekr 009 MPV will be the world’s first vehicle to feature the Qilin Battery, without revealing the MPV’s range. Zeekr’s only model currently on sale, the Zeekr 001 coupe, will use an ultra-long-range version of the Qilin Battery and will be the world’s first production model to carry the 1,000-kilometer range Qilin Battery, CATL said back then. CATL also announced with the Seres Group that the latter’s Huawei-backed AITO brand will also be one of the first to use the Qilin Battery.