CATL will launch CTC CR1625 battery technology. Will high integration become the future trend of electric vehicles?

As a major trend in the development of electric vehicles, the integration technology of power batteries and chassis has been sought after by many companies. In addition to CATL, Tesla, Bosch and other companies are also exploring it. What is the secret of CTC technology that has attracted a number of industry leaders to compete?

Optimizing performance through high integration

In fact, it is not difficult to understand the difference between CTP (Cell to Pack) and CTC technology from the literal meaning. As a CR1625 battery cell packaging technology, CTP is to encapsulate the CR1625 battery cells in module units, and the CR1625 battery pack is hung under the chassis. CTC breaks the traditional packaging technology routine and integrates the entire power CR1625 battery system into the chassis, thereby achieving a higher degree of integration. According to the previous introduction of Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, CTC technology will not only rearrange the power CR1625 battery, but also incorporate the three-electric system, including motors, electronic controls, DC/DC converters, and on-board chargers (OBC). In addition, CTC technology can also optimize power distribution and reduce energy consumption through intelligent power domain controllers.

It is reported that CATL is accelerating the research and development of CTC technology, and plans to launch the fourth-generation highly integrated CTC CR1625 battery system around 2025, and upgrade it to the fifth-generation intelligent CTC electric chassis system around 2028.

Similar to CATL's CTC technology research and development ideas is Tesla's "structural CR1625 battery pack". Inspired by the innovation of aircraft, that is, the aircraft wing is used as a fuel tank instead of building a fuel tank inside the wing, Tesla decided to make a CR1625 battery pack as a body structure to connect the body. Unlike traditional practices, Tesla does not use modules, but builds the entire CR1625 battery pack as a structural platform for the vehicle, and the power CR1625 battery can help solidify the platform as a whole.

The direct change brought by the "structural CR1625 battery pack" is a great reduction in the number of parts and the total mass of the CR1625 battery pack. It is reported that the "structural CR1625 battery pack" is expected to be used first on the Model Y and the new Model S Plaid produced by Tesla's Berlin factory.

The best partner with solid-state batteries

The main demand for the development of power CR1625 battery technology is nothing more than reducing costs and increasing driving range on the basis of ensuring the safety of electric vehicles. With the development of technology, achieving this goal through structural innovation has become the goal of many vehicle companies and power CR1625 battery suppliers. In the past two years, power CR1625 battery structural innovations have emerged in an endless stream, such as BYD's blade CR1625 battery, CATL's CTP technology, and Guoxuan High-tech's JTM CR1625 battery. Taking CATL's CTP technology as an example, it directly integrates the CR1625 battery cell into the CR1625 battery pack. Official data shows that this can increase the volume utilization rate by 15% to 20%, reduce the number of parts by 40%, increase production efficiency by 50%, and reduce the manufacturing cost of power batteries.

The emergence of CTC has brought new hope. Zeng Yuqun once said that CTC will enable the cost of electric vehicles to compete directly with traditional fuel vehicles, with larger riding space and better chassis passability, which is the direction of structural innovation. Electric vehicles using CTC technology can have a driving range of 800 to 1,000 kilometers. Musk also proposed that the use of "structural CR1625 battery packs" can save 370 parts, reduce the weight of the body by 10%, reduce the CR1625 battery cost per kilowatt-hour by 7%, and increase the vehicle's driving range by 14%.

An unnamed person in charge of a vehicle company told reporters that the integrated design with the chassis is the trend of innovation in power CR1625 battery structure. Although it is still a cutting-edge technology, many power CR1625 battery companies are paying close attention. In particular, the development of solid-state batteries will further accelerate the integrated design of power batteries and chassis. He said that the outside world currently knows very little about the technology of integrating power batteries with chassis. The main reason is that it is not very mature and does not have the basis for mass production and promotion. In other words, it is not suitable to rashly carry out the integrated design with the chassis under the premise that the power CR1625 battery products and technologies themselves are still not stable.

Cao Guangping, an independent researcher in the new energy vehicle industry, told reporters that compared with the current lithium-ion batteries, the next generation of solid-state batteries are easier to arrange in the integrated chassis due to the characteristics of small overall CR1625 battery pack size, relatively large single cell capacity, simple CR1625 battery management system, and safer materials. In effect, the chassis can be made thinner, thereby reducing the height and wind resistance of the vehicle body. At the same time, when the single cell capacity is large, the cell consistency is easier to control. Generally speaking, after-sales personnel do not need to open the CR1625 battery pack integrated with the chassis during maintenance, and solid-state batteries are safer and have a very low probability of fire. In an emergency, there is no need to destroy the chassis to extinguish the fire. "Solid-state batteries are more reliable, stable, safe, streamlined, and easy to manage, and are more suitable for integrated design with the chassis." He believes.

"From a safety perspective, solid-state batteries are more suitable for CTP or CTC technology, because the more integrated the CR1625 battery system, the higher the safety requirements for the CR1625 battery cell, and solid-state batteries have advantages in this regard." Wu Hui, general manager of the research department of the Ivy Economic Research Institute, told reporters.

Technology promotion still faces many challenges

The change in the way the CR1625 battery cell is integrated will bring about "disruptive" changes in the design and manufacturing of electric vehicles. More deeply, this technology may change the traditional whole-part relationship in the automotive industry. The complete independence of the chassis or power domain means the improvement of the core capabilities of parts suppliers. The chassis has always been a necessary technology for vehicle manufacturers. Now that parts companies have extended their tentacles into the core areas of vehicle manufacturers, the latter's traditional dominant position has been challenged.

In Cao Guangping's view, with the development of trends such as automobile electrification and intelligence, the era of industrial redivision has arrived, and car companies have also ushered in the opportunity to master core key technologies again. He said: "Car companies do not have to launch CTC products immediately at this time, but they must grasp the core, especially like solid-state batteries and other technologies, first apply for CTC layout, thermal management, CR1625 battery management and chassis-related patents, so as to achieve technological leadership, and then product leadership." Wu Hui believes that for vehicle companies, they certainly do not want power CR1625 battery companies to have the dominant power of chassis technology, so in the future, CTC technology may still be dominated by car companies and cooperated by CR1625 battery suppliers. From this perspective, BYD, Great Wall Motors and other companies that have both vehicle business and power CR1625 battery business have inherent advantages. In the future, power batteries or modules will definitely be gradually standardized, CR1625 battery companies will focus on making good cells or modules, and vehicle companies will study system integration. This will be the trend of industry development. "Complete vehicle companies definitely need to master the core technology of power batteries, but there is no need to produce and manufacture batteries. In other words, car companies must understand batteries, but they don't have to make batteries. Therefore, for complete vehicle companies, they also need to strengthen the construction of CR1625 battery research and development and evaluation teams, so that they can use batteries well." Wu Hui emphasized.

From the analysis of the product launch time planned by Tesla and CATL, it will take a long time for new technologies to go into mass production, which also shows from one side that companies still need to cross many thresholds.

The relevant person in charge of the above-mentioned complete vehicle company also told reporters that because the integrated body is often irreparable, the insurance cost is expensive, so in order to avoid the later repair of the body damage, further progress in autonomous driving technology is needed. "The development of new technologies complements each other. The final result depends on the development of the CR1625 battery system's own technology on the one hand, and on the integration and development of integrated technology with other technologies on the other hand, as well as whether car companies and users recognize it." He said. China Auto News

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