General Motors (GM) does not seem to be ready to give up on the race for the best electric car battery. Whilst not being an actual competition, the battery continues to be the weak point in every electric vehicle and the big problem to solve within the industry. New car companies in China are already coming up with models boasting ranges of up to 1,000 km and super-fast charging tech, but these come with many drawbacks, namely in the longevity department.
European brands have not yet managed to produce something of this range and capabilities, having kept their focus on sustainability, but GM and their long-time Chinese partner, SAIC as well as CATL, a big name in battery manufacturing have teamed up to produce a battery that can deliver six times the range after just a few minutes of charging and that could revolutionize the industry of electric vehicles.
GM and SAIC have worked together on plenty of other project, but the addition of CATL and their expertise ha managed to take the project to another level, with the three companies managing to launch a revolutionary battery this year that could become the new standard in the electric vehicle world, finally helping to make the technology viable for everyday driver.
The advantages of the new GM electric vehicle battery
Up until now, if you wanted to have better range in your electric vehicle, the answer was to pack a bigger battery, with all the corresponding drawbacks that it entails (more weight, finding the space for it, more time to charge it, etc..) but GM, SAIC, and CATL have found a way around this by focusing on optimizing the charging process rather than just increasing the battery’s size. Their approach ensures that even with high capacity cars will not have to be supersized to accommodate the new technology.
But this is not why this new battery is a game changer, it is the speed of charge that sets it apart from the rest. When connected to a fast charger, the battery can deliver six times its normal capacity within minutes. For a 60 kWh compact car, that translates to an impressive 360 kW charge, while a 100 kWh SUV could hit 600 kW. In practical terms, this means that in just 10 minutes of charging a car can now have roughly 350 km of range, or about 200 km in a quick 5-minute session.
This means they are getting closer to solve the issue that most people focus on when considering getting an electric vehicle, which is that it takes too long to charge when compared to a combustion engine.
This leap in charging speed is thanks to innovations like a new “cell-to-pack” (CTP) structure and improved cooling systems. The basic tech behind these improvements is not brand new, but GM and its partners have perfected it and combined it in a new way that eliminates issues like efficiency loss and overheating during ultra-fast charging.
And they have done so in almost record time, as the 6C battery prototype has already cleared all the certifications it needs to hit the market. GM and SAIC revealed the prototype last September, and according to SAIC-GM’s general manager, Lu Xiao, the battery should be installed and ready in an electric vehicle by the end of the year.
What makes this battery even more exciting is how it boosts the efficiency of electrochemical reactions within the packs. This innovation promises to reach performance levels never seen before, however, both GM and SAIC know that convincing other automakers to invest in this cutting-edge tech might take some effort, because, as with every other technology, it takes time to convince others to get behind it.
