Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. LTD, or CATL, is a giant battery supplier from China that works with Tesla, Ford, and other American brands. Today, it announced a new battery called the Shenxing cell which can charge to a range of 400 km (248 miles) in 10 minutes. It goes into production late this year and joins a number of rival products that charge at similar rates.
Shenxing means “god-like movement”, which seems like it’s a bit too aspirational, but for electric vehicle owners that need a quick charge, it might feel like an answer from the heavens. EV ownership has long been chided as simply not as convenient when it comes to refueling. Having the ability to add nearly 250 miles of range in just ten minutes diminishes the gap between fuel types.
“We hope through continuous efforts to improve technology and reduce costs, Shenxing will become a standard product available for every electric vehicle,” said Gao Han, chief technology officer of CATL’s E-Car Business to Reuters. Tesla, the clear leader in electric vehicles, is CATL’s largest client but it’s not alone.
I just had a thought. At this point it might be a certainty that electric takes over from liquid fuels for most land vehicle (and maybe even air someday) propulsion power. That’s because plenty of people are working on making batteries and motors more efficient, while almost nobody is working on making liquid fuels and engines more efficient anymore.
To work in ICE (Internal Combustion Engines) to make them more efficient would be a dead end not matter how much anyone tried. There really isn’t much left to optimize. It can’t be efficient with all that heat doing nothing useful.
Battery chemistry still has a long way to go, presenting opportunities for anyone that can find the better choices.
When you are constantly moving around at a relatively high speed, you can’t heat “something” unless you are carrying it around with you. And carrying more weight around with you costs additional energy.