CATL Chief Scientist Wu Kai: Upcoming Release of CTP 3.0 Battery

Wu Kai, chief scientist at CATL, said at the 2022 World EV & ES Battery Conference on Thursday that the CTP 3.0 battery, or Kirin battery, will soon be released.

Wu Kai also added that the Kirin battery will have a water-cooled sheet in the middle of two cells so that the thermal conduction of the two adjacent cells is reduced and there is no thermal runaway. This new type of battery will be able to sustain high-voltage fast charging, particularly 4C charging, which will be rolled out into the market later next year. The technology can greatly improve the life of the battery since the water-cooled sheet has a buffering effect. Furthermore, the Kirin battery optimizes its space which gives it 13% more power than that of the 4680.

The features mentioned by Wu Kai are similar to what he mentioned at the 2022 China EV 100 in March. The Kirin battery can increase its capacity by 13% compared to the 4680 battery launched by Tesla with the same chemical system and the same pack size. At the CATL Performance Conference in May, Chairman Robin Zeng said that Kirin battery was scheduled to be released in the second quarter of this year.

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Wu Kai also said the supply of lithium ore worldwide is enough and that much of the price increase was due to speculation. The soaring price of lithium carbonate is detrimental to the industry, and two things need to be done to change the status quo. First, current lithium ore supplies mainly relies on imports, speculation has led to sudden price increases which means domestic producers will need to increase the amount of mining they are doing. And second, it is necessary to work properly to recycle and reuse the lithium currently available in the market.