Volkswagen-backed Gotion unveils new EV battery with 1,000 km range

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2023-05-22 10:30:06

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Chinese battery maker Gotion High-Tech on Friday unveiled an “affordable,” iron-based electric vehicle battery called Astroinno, saying it offers a more than 1,000 kilometer (620 mile) range on a single charge without using expensive materials such as cobalt and nickel.

Why it matters: The battery, which uses a manganese-based cathode, is a potential offering to a group of automakers, including Volkswagen, for their mainstream models. The new battery could mean a higher energy density than conventional lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries and come at a lower cost than ones which rely mostly on nickel and cobalt.

Details: The Astroinno battery has a cell-level energy density of 240 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) and reaches 190 Wh/kg at a system level. By comparison, larger rival CATL’s latest Qilin battery reaches around 255 Wh/kg systematically, while giant maker BYD is working to increase the energy density of its blade battery to 180 Wh/kg from 150 Wh/kg before 2025.