Shanghai (ZXZC)- CATL plans to formally launch the “Qilin” battery, its third-generation CTP (cell-to-pack) battery technology in the second quarter of 2022, Zeng Yuqun, CATL's chairman, said on May 5 at the latest annual earnings conference.

The CTP is a system that utilizes battery cells that are combined into packs without modules to reduce complexity, weight, space and cost.

Photo credit: CATL

Wu Kai, chief scientist at CATL, said in March at the China EV100 Forum that the company had developed the “Qinlin” battery through continuous technical iterations. He added the battery would boast industrial-leading battery system weight, gravimetric energy density, and volumetric energy density. Under the same chemical mechanism and the same battery pack size, Qilin's capacity can be 13% higher than the 4680 battery.

The CTP 3.0 will be available in both LFP and NCM battery cell chemistries. Using the CTP technology, the LFP battery system will have a gravimetric energy density of 160Wh/kg and a volumetric energy density of 290Wh/l, while the numbers for the NCM one will be at least 250Wh/kg and 450Wh/l.

The Qilin battery is part of the results from CATL's efforts to develop the highly efficient battery packaging technology, expecting to cater to consumers' pursuit of longer range with proper costs.

Meanwhile, Zeng Yuqun also revealed CATL's R&D of perovskite solar cells is well underway and the company is building a pilot-batch production line for the product.

In response to the rumor of building a plant in the U.S., Mr. Zeng said CATL had discussed with its U.S. clients about the possible solutions for supply and cooperation businesses, and co-explored the possibility of locally manufacturing batteries in the country. However, when it comes to how the project will be carried out, the effects of worker training, operating efficiency and labor union on the battery quality and costs must be taken into account.