The GAC Aion LX Plus is packed with a ternary lithium battery pack with a capacity of up to 144.4 kWh.

(Image credit: GAC Aion)

Longer range is the quest of electric vehicle (EV) companies, and now GAC Aion brings the competition to 1,000 kilometers.

The Aion LX Plus from GAC's new energy vehicle subsidiary recently made it to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) product announcement in China with a 144.4 kWh battery pack, an energy density of 205 Wh/kg, and an impressive NEDC range of 1,008 km.

Entering the MIIT product announcement is the last major regulatory process for a model to become available in China, meaning local consumers are only a few months away from having an EV with a range of over 1,000 km.

(Image credit: The MIIT website)

Nio's ET7 flagship sedan, released earlier this year, supports up to 150 kWh of semi-solid-state battery packs that can also give the vehicle an NEDC range of more than 1,000 km, but the packs are still not in mass production.

GAC Aion's 144.4 kWh pack uses not solid-state battery technology, but is based on traditional ternary lithium batteries.

The company announced its silicon sponge negative cell battery technology on April 9, saying it is a technology that makes batteries lighter and smaller, improving cell energy density, power density, and low-temperature performance.

The technology aims to replace the traditional graphite anode material with silicon-containing anode material, thus allowing the battery capacity to increase.

GAC (HKG: 2238) previously said that its research institute developed the technology to make the silicon negative electrode inside the battery as soft as a sponge after 10 years of planning and 5 years of research.

The energy density of the battery using this technology reaches 280 Wh/kg, which can reduce the size of the battery unit by 20 percent and the weight by 14 percent, according to the company.

In the case of the Aion LX, which has a range of 650 km, the technology allows a range increase of up to 1,000 km with the same volume of battery pack, according to the company.

That's getting closer to reality now with the Aion LX Plus making it into the MIIT's product announcement.

The Aion LX Plus is an upgraded version of the currently available Aion LX, with a length, width and height of 4,835/1,935/1,658mm, a permanent magnet synchronous motor with 180 kW of power and a top speed of 170 km/h.

The Aion LX Plus is expected to be unveiled during the Guangzhou Auto Show on November 19, and its price information is currently unknown. For reference, the price range of the Aion LX is RMB 229,600 ($35,900) -349,600.

GAC Aion plans to invest $52.5 million in trial production line for batteries

(Image credit: The MIIT website)