CATL invents game-changing cheap battery

CATL, the world’s second biggest battery supplier, has announced it is readying a new type of battery technology that doesn’t rely on expensive nickel or cobalt as a key ingredient.

Both nickel and cobalt, along with other metal alloys, are by far the costliest elements of current batteries and industry pundits say their elimination would remove the final barrier to mainstream acceptance of EVs.

Already a supplier to Tesla, CATL has high-profile partnerships with Toyota, Honda, VW and Daimler, and all are expected to benefit from the new battery breakthrough that was announced at an industry conference held in Shanghai over the weekend.

For now, CATL says it’s keeping details of its next-gen battery tech under wraps and the big battery supplier hasn’t provided a timeframe for its arrival.

Previously, Japan’s Panasonic and Korea’s LG Chem had announced they were both well on the way to lowering the use of cobalt in their nickel-cobalt-aluminium or nickel-cobalt-manganese battery cells, but there has been no announcement of mass-produced nickel- or cobalt-free cells from the major producers.

It’s thought that when they arrive in a new or existing production model, the new CATL batteries could be integrated directly into the vehicle's architecture, saving weight, boosting range and significantly reducing cost.