Geely’s Zeekr unit unveils ultra-fast-charging EV battery in China’s electrification race

Zeekr’s self-developed lithium-ion-phosphate (LFP) battery, dubbed Golden Battery and installed on its 007 electric sedan, supports 800-volt ultra-fast charging and assures owners of “swift and reliable” performance, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The 75-kilowatt-hour battery, when fully charged, allows a car to go as far as 682km, it added.

“Thanks to the optimised materials and upgraded technology, the speed is higher than what is achieved by existing nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) batteries,” Zeekr said. “It’s a new achievement by Zeekr’s in-house e-power-train research and development team.”

The costs of producing NCM batteries are about 30 per cent higher than its LFP types, but they offer an EV a longer mileage on a single charge, according to industry data.

“Zeekr’s newest battery and battery technology is an example of how Chinese EV assemblers are challenging legacy carmakers,” said Chen Jinzhu, CEO of consultancy Shanghai Mingliang Auto Service.

“Higher penetration rate of EVs has encouraged more producers to upgrade their technologies.”

Zeekr said it had opened more than 500 ultra-fast-charging stations across mainland China, offering more than 2,700 charging piles in total. Its facilities will support 800V charging, while most batteries and domestic charging infrastructure support 400V charging.

Higher battery voltage ensures more energy and higher charging capability, which leads to enhanced efficiency and better battery performance.

Zeekr hired more than 1,000 engineers and spent three years to develop its own high-performance battery.

The carmaker said at the end of 2023 that the Golden Battery, manufactured in a plant in Quzhou in eastern Zhejiang province, was the world’s first mass-produced 800V ultra-fast-charging LFP battery.

Chinese companies already make up six of the world’s top 10 EV battery producers, with more than 60 per cent combined global market, according to Seoul-based SNE Research.

Zeekr’s refreshed 007 model fitted with the latest LFP battery starts at 209,900 yuan (US$29,303), unchanged from the previous version, which requires 15 minutes of charging to give a 500km driving range. The company will begin delivering the new 007 sedans from Wednesday, it said.

Gotion High-Tech, a Chinese battery maker backed by Volkswagen, said in May that its 75 kWh G-Current battery has a capacity to deliver 480km with 9.8 minutes of charging. It takes 25 minutes to fully charge the battery for 600km of driving range.

Sales of pure electric and plug-in hybrid passenger cars jumped 37 per in July 879,000 units from a year earlier, the China Passenger Car Association said on Tuesday, or 51 per cent of nationwide auto sales. They increased 3 per cent from June.