The CATL M3P battery has been rumored to be used in the Tesla Model RWD in China. The CATL M3P battery is rumored to be more energy dense than iron phosphate.
Other information from CATL contradicts what the translation of the financial report says.
CATL and Cherry were on stage saying that the first CATL sodium ion batteries would be used in Cherry EV. Other reports indicate the M3P is lithium iron phosphate combined with manganese.
36 Krypton learned from a number of people familiar with the matter that Tesla ’s domestically-made Model 3 facelift will continue to upgrade the battery pack, especially the power of the basic rear-wheel drive version will be upgraded from 60kWh to 66kWh, using Ningde era M3P new lithium iron phosphate battery.
It was previously believed that a Sodium Ion battery would have less energy density but far lower cost than regular lithium ion batteries. CATL was also believed to be working on hybrid Sodium ion and lithium batteries to get the right mix of energy density and cost. Sodium ion batteries would need to be scaled to 20 GWH per year in 2023 if everything went to plan. This would be enough for 300,000 Model 3 in 2023.
The thinking was that Sodium ion batteries will be lower cost and reduce the supply chain constraints on lithium supplies.
CATL's July semi-annual report: M3P battery chemistry is sodium-ion, not LMFP.
"announced the first 4C Kirin battery platform, the first sodium-ion battery model to promote the industrialization of M3P"
宣布 4C 麒麟电池首发平台和钠离子电池首发车型，推进 M3P 产业化。
Am I… pic.twitter.com/S6UGYuIw1I
— Warren Redlich – The Daily Lie (@WR4NYGov) August 15, 2023
In December, 2022 Nextbigfuture reported that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) planned to start mass production of its sodium-ion batteries in 2023. CATL has setup a large supply chain for the batteries and has entered negotiations with some carmakers about their use. Sodium-ion batteries have already been commercialized in e-bikes and energy storage.
Sodium is 2.3% of the world’s crust. It is over 1000 times more abundant than lithium.
CATL is the world’s largest battery company and is the major battery supplier to Tesla.
CATL’s first generation of sodium-ion batteries has the advantages of high-energy density, fast-charging capability, excellent thermal stability, great low-temperature performance and high-integration efficiency, among others. The energy density of CATL’s sodium-ion battery cell can achieve up to 160Wh/kg, and the battery can charge in 15 minutes to 80% SOC at room temperature. Moreover, in a low-temperature environment of -20°C, the sodium-ion battery has a capacity retention rate of more than 90%, and its system integration efficiency can reach more than 80%. The sodium-ion batteries’ thermal stability exceeds the national safety requirements for traction batteries. The first generation of sodium-ion batteries can be used in various transportation electrification scenarios, especially in regions with extremely low temperatures, where its outstanding advantages become obvious. Also, it can be flexibly adapted to the application needs of all scenarios in the energy storage field.
CATL’s battery capacity is expected to reach more than 670 GWh by 2025 according to current estimates and has announced a target capacity of 1200 GWh per year perhaps as a runrate by the end of 2025 or in 2026.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
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TSLA has shown pretty good flexibility in utilizing and scaling new battery formats and chemistries. They are capable of moving and adapting more quickly than other OEMs.
Typo in the story. The words Sodium-ion batteries have is duplicated in the sentence below
Sodium-ion batteries have sodium-ion batteries have already been commercialized in e-bikes and energy storage.
fixed. thanks
Battery tech on par with Lithium Ion that doesn’t require rare earth metals or spontaneously combust while maintaining the same or better energy storage level per volume/weight would be a welcome improvement.
China is not alone in sodium battery development. Many Companies in Asia and rest of the world are on verge of this battery being put to use.
Since the U.S. currently has strained relations with China, what are the chances CATL licenses the technology to Tesla to produce it in America? Maybe in Mexico?
A lot, if they need the money.
On the other side, the US government can seize the patent/void it for “security reasons”
Patents is “government gives privileges, governments takes privileges” sort of thing.
if this is true, tsla is doomed.
Tesla buys batteries from them.
How so?