On 24 October 2024, CATL launched the Freevoy super hybrid battery, the world’s first hybrid vehicle battery to achieve a pure electric range of over 400 kilometres and a super-fast 4C charge, ushering in a new era for high-capacity EREV and PHEV batteries. The Freevoy has already been used in numerous models of various brands, including Li Auto, AVATR, DEEPAL, CHANGAN NEVO and NETA. By 2025, 30 hybrid vehicle models equipped with CATL’s Freevoy from brands such as Geely, Chery, GAC and VOYAH are expected to be launched and delivered.
Freevoy is a transformative solution that redefines PHEV and EREV batteries
CATL’s Freevoy battery was developed for hybrid vehicles with EREV and PHEV technology. It eliminates the need for constant recharging, a common drawback of existing hybrid vehicles, and offers the convenience of being able to drive to work for a week on a single charge. It also offers impressive charging speeds and a range of over 280 kilometres with a charging time of 10 minutes, effectively eliminating range concerns for EREV and PHEV owners.
Freevoy utilises a surface modification technology of the cathode material in combination with an innovative high-voltage electrolyte formulation to create a nano-protective layer. This effectively minimises side reactions within the active layer. By integrating highly active particles in the excited state into the cathode material, the transport efficiency of lithium ions within the material is significantly improved. Using the high-precision SOC full-scene model developed by CATL and improving the intelligent BMS algorithms and hardware, the SOC control accuracy of Freevoy was increased by 40%, and the overall all-electric utilisation rate was increased by more than 10%, achieving an all-electric range of more than 400 km. At the same time, CATL conducted model data analysis of the battery’s charge-discharge polarisation characteristics, accurately predicted the battery’s future discharge capacity, and created a multi-stage power prediction and control strategy for the battery, improving hybrid vehicle performance by 20%.
In addition, CATL has successfully deployed its 4C ultra-fast charging technology in the Freevoy, achieving a range of over 280 kilometres with a charging time of 10 minutes. The effortless transport of lithium ions is enabled by the application of fast ionic conductor coating technology at the cathode, second generation fast-charging graphite and novel nano-coating technologies for the anode, a multi-stage, multi-gradient electrode design and a brand new ultra-high conductivity electrolyte formulation, providing hybrid vehicles with the ultimate charging experience equivalent to that of pure electric vehicles.
CATL’s sodium-ion battery technology is also utilised in the Freevoy, breaking the low temperature constraints for new energy vehicles. It achieves discharge capability in extremely cold environments down to -40 degrees Celsius, charge capability down to -30 degrees Celsius and provides a seamless driving experience down to -20 degrees Celsius, comparable to normal temperatures. To further enhance the Freevoy’s low-temperature performance, CATL has introduced three key technological innovations centred on sodium-ion battery technology.
Freevoy firstly utilises CATL’s technology to integrate AB battery systems, combining sodium-ion batteries and lithium-ion batteries in a defined ratio and arrangement with mixed, series and parallel connections to improve the low temperature range by 5%. Secondly, CATL takes the sodium-ion battery as the SOC benchmark for monitoring the AB battery system to help calibrate the state of charge of the lithium-ion battery. This increases the precision of the system control by 30%, extending the all-electric range by more than 10 kilometres. To compensate for the performance differences between lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries at low temperatures, CATL has developed a precise BMS technology for the entire temperature range. This technology implements targeted zone management for different chemical systems around the clock, effectively mitigating issues such as inaccurate charge predictions or reduced performance in harsh high and low temperature environments.
CATL has established a comprehensive reliability management and evaluation system that starts from material selection and molecular design and includes multi-level protection structures, extreme manufacturing processes, comprehensive testing and validation, and data-driven early warning mechanisms. Source: www.prnewswire.com