Volkswagen-backed Chinese EV battery maker Gotion takes on rival CATL with superfast-charging LFP product

Gotion High-Tech, a Chinese battery maker backed by Volkswagen, said its new fast-charging battery is ready for commercial production, a product that gives it an edge against rivals like CATL, the world's top electric-vehicle battery producer.

The fourth-largest EV-battery maker in mainland China and eighth-largest worldwide said the G-Current lithium-ion-phosphate (LFP) battery offers a driving range of nearly 500km in less than 10 minutes of charging.

The LFP battery can power both pure electric and plug-in hybrids and is targeted at sedans and SUVs priced between 300,000 yuan (US$41,530) and 400,000 yuan, Cao Yong, vice-president of Gotion's engineering research and development institute, said on Friday.

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"It was developed to cater to market demand," Cao said. "The battery will largely address the [driving range] pain points for consumers."

Cao Yong, vice-president of Gotion's engineering research and development institute, introduces the G-Current LFP battery at a conference in Hefei, Anhui province, on Friday. Photo: Daniel Ren alt=Cao Yong, vice-president of Gotion's engineering research and development institute, introduces the G-Current LFP battery at a conference in Hefei, Anhui province, on Friday. Photo: Daniel Ren>

Batteries account for nearly 40 per cent of the cost of an EV. China is the world's largest EV market where four out of every 10 new cars are powered by batteries and the pace of expansion of charging facilities is quickening. Sales of EVs on the mainland account for 60 per cent of the global total.

Gotion's 75 kilowatt-hour (KWh) G-Current battery gives a range of 480km in 9.8 minutes of charging, while it takes 25 minutes to fully charge the battery, which gives a car 600km range.

Cao said the company envisions large-scale delivery of the battery to EV assemblers from early 2025 when its new production facilities are complete.

Gotion, based in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui province, supplied 3.4 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries to EV makers in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 22.1 per cent year on year. It had a 2.1 per cent share of the global market in the three months to March, unchanged from a year earlier.

Technically, 1GWh of batteries can power about 13,000 electric cars, each with a driving range of 500km.

On the mainland, Gotion competes against giants like Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world's largest manufacturer, which held a 37.9 per cent share of the global market in the first quarter.

On May 10, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, during his tour of Anhui, told Gotion's founder and chairman Li Zhen that he would encourage the company to consolidate its ties with Volkswagen to accelerate its technological capabilities and product upgrades.

In August 2023, CATL unveiled its Shenxing supercharging battery which gives an EV a 400km range with 10 minutes of charging. The battery can be fully charged in just 15 minutes.

"Competition among Chinese battery producers like CATL and Gotion, with new products, should convince drivers that range anxiety will no longer be a concern if they opt for electric cars," said Davis Zhang, a senior ­executive at Suzhou Hazardtex, a supplier of specialised vehicle batteries.

"The companies need to enhance production efficiency to make the batteries more affordable."

Gotion, which has 14 plants in China and six overseas, also unveiled Gemstone, a solid-state battery, on Friday. However, the company did not say when it planned to start mass production of the new product.

The battery has an energy density of 350 watt-hours per kilogram, 50 per cent higher than an average LFP counterpart.

Solid-state batteries are deemed to be a better option for EVs than batteries based on liquid electrolytes - including sodium-ion batteries and current lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries - because they are safer, more reliable and more efficient.

The technology promises longer driving range, but requires higher development and production costs.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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