CATL announces series production for aircraft batteries with 500 watt-hours per kilogram

China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co, Limited (CATL) has unveiled a battery with an energy density of 500 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) at the Auto Shanghai exhibition. Such high energy densities have previously only been achieved on a laboratory scale. California-based Amprius Technologies, for example, unveiled lithium-ion cells with 500 Wh/kg at the end of March, although it did not give any details on the market launch. CATL, one of the world's largest battery manufacturers, on the other hand, announced its intention to enter mass production with its new high-performance battery in the short term. The company explicitly refers to »a brand-new electrification scenario of passenger aircrafts« and is also working with aircraft manufacturers on this. Of course, the high energy density is also important for electromobility as a whole, as it enables significantly longer ranges for the same weight.
Unlike Amprius, CATL gives little concrete information about its technology. It is a »condensed edge battery technology« that »can achieve high energy density and high level of safety at the same time«. The battery uses »highly conductive biomimetic condensed state electrolytes to construct a micron level self adaptive net structure that can adjust the interactive forces among the chains, thus improving the conductive performance of the cells and in turn the efficiency of the lithium ion transporting« There are also no details on volumetric energy density, pricing or cycle count.
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