Lithium-ion batteries have higher voltage than other types of batteries, meaning they can store more energy and discharge more power for high-energy uses like driving a car at high speeds or providing emergency backup power. Charging and recharging a battery wears it out, but lithium-ion batteries are also long-lasting.
Batteries that can charge quickly while also being small, light, and long-lasting would be a step forward. The trade-off between high capacity and fast charging comes down to the way charged molecules called ions move around in batteries. As a battery charges, an electric current pushes lithium ions from one side of the cell to the other.
CATL would be the first to put these fast-charging cells in electric vehicles. With lithium-ion batteries, there tends to be a stiff trade-off between how much energy they can store and how quickly they can charge. These batteries can generally be split into two categories: “energy cells” and “power cells.”
(Image credit: Artur Debat via Getty Images) A technology that could dramatically increase the range and decrease the charging time of electric vehicle (EV) batteries could soon be in many more cars. The technology swaps the graphite normally used on the negatively charged anodes of lithium-ion EV batteries for silicon.
CATL's new Shenxing batteries could speed EV charging. CATL Chinese battery giant CATL unveiled a new fast-charging battery last week—one that the company says can add up to 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) of range in 10 minutes.
Good news: batteries are getting cheaper. While early signs show just how important batteries can be in our energy system, we still need gobs more to actually clean up the grid. If we’re going to be on track to cut greenhouse-gas emissions to zero by midcentury, we’ll need to increase battery deployment sevenfold.