CATL Unveils EV Battery With Longer Range

CATL building
Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg News

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Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. unveiled an electric car battery it said has a range of over 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) on a single charge and is 13% more powerful than one planned by Tesla Inc., a major customer.

CATL, as the world’s biggest maker of electric car batteries is known, will start manufacturing the next-generation “Qilin” next year, according to a video the Chinese company streamed online June 23. The battery charges faster than existing cells and is safer and more durable, CATL said.

The Qilin battery, named after a mythical Chinese creature, has an energy density of up to 255 watt-hour per kilogram, Ningde, Fujian-based CATL said.



“It’s an important advancement for CATL as it keeps them at the forefront on the innovation side,” said Tu Le, managing director of Beijing-based consultancy Sino Auto Insights. “Being the lowest cost provider isn’t enough to command loyalty, there needs to be more to it — and that seems to be the Qilin battery for CATL.”

CATL’s shares climbed 5.9% in Shenzhen, closing at the highest since Feb. 9.

The company said June 22 it raised 45 billion yuan ($6.7 billion) in a private placement of shares, with the proceeds intended for production and upgrade of lithium-ion battery manufacturing in four Chinese cities, as well as research and development.

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