Chinese premium electric automaker Zeekr proudly introduced Thursday its in-house developed electric vehicle LFP battery that can recharge 500 km range in just 15 minutes.
The Golden Battery
Zeekr’s new “Golden Brick” battery uses a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry it developed internally. According to the company, it can power the brand’s 800V electrical system for its planned EV models.
It also claims to enable a battery range of up to 500 km (311 miles) and reach full charge in just 15 minutes.
The Geely-owned brand admitted that LFP cells tend to offer lower energy densities than nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries, which allows rivals like Tesla to develop base-level models.
However, Zeekr emphasized that its engineers achieved higher energy density than the industry standard. Therefore, its Golden Brick battery offers a more capable LFP chemistry that is still cheaper than NCMs.
“Thanks to the application of newly-developed materials and simplified structural design, the volume utilization of the new battery pack reaches 83.7%, higher than many global peers. The excellent energy density does not come with compromise in safety, the packs have passed six strict safety tests including nail penetration conducted by National Motor Vehicle Quality Inspection and Testing Center.”
Zeekr
CnEVPost outlined that the volume utilization rate of regular LFP batteries is only 66%, while that of li-ion ternary batteries only exceeds 72%.
Zeekr’s electrification progress
Zeekr continues to advance in the electric vehicle industry amid the slowdown of its rivals so far this year.
The Chinese brand officially introduced its 007 electric sedan in November after its debut at the recent Guangzhou Auto Show, Electrek asserted. It will hit the Chinese market on December 27, while deliveries will follow after a few days.
It also submitted an application for a US Initial Public Offering (IPO) early last month. EV-a2z previously reported the Geely-owned brand’s plans to raise more than $1 billion in the stock exchange.
Now, Zeekr reveals its new LFP battery tech with superior capabilities following its Power Day 2023 event yesterday.
Charging network development plans
Zeekr also announced plans at the Power Day event to boost its fast-charging network to 1,000 stations in its home country by the end of 2024 to accommodate its 800V architecture and fast-charging batteries.
By 2026, Zeekr’s charging network will include more than 10,000 360+ kW charging piles. For reference, the automaker already operates 407 fast charging stations in China with 2,300+ piles as of the end of November.
Zeekr plans to debut the ground-breaking Golden Brick battery in its upcoming 007 sedan, with plans to equip other models later. We’d likely learn more details about the new LFP batteries at the market launch of the new 007 in two weeks.
