LFP Chemistry Gets a Boost From Zeekr's Ultra-Fast-Charging 'Golden Battery'

Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cells are the EV industry's darling these days because they are affordable and don't use scarce raw materials like nickel and cobalt. Other advantages are their long service life and thermal stability. The downside is that they are heavy and have lower voltage, which means the energy density is inferior to that of the NMC and NCA cells widely used in electric vehicles. They also struggle in low temperatures, which further affects charging speed and power.

However, the LFP chemistry is still in active development, and recent discoveries promise to vastly expand their capabilities. This summer, the market leader CATL announced LFP cells that can charge at minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) as fast as ternary batteries (NMC and NCA). When kept at optimal temperatures, they can charge fully in 15 minutes (4C charge rate), which is ultra-fast charging territory.

CATL is the global market leader in battery cell manufacturing and the traditional supplier of many EV makers, including Tesla. Zeekr, a luxury brand owned by Geely, also uses CATL's battery cells in its EVs, but things are set to change. The sister brand of Volvo and Polestar has started producing its own batteries, and is now entering mass production with a very advanced type of LFP cell. Zeekr calls it the "Golden Battery," probably in anticipation of the upcoming profits.

The Golden Battery is the first mass-produced 800-volt LFP battery, and the Zeekr 007 will be the first electric vehicle to use it. Announced last month, the luxury EV will make its market debut on December 27, with first deliveries expected early next year. We don't know the battery capacity yet, but Zeekr claims it can add 500 km (310 miles) in 15 minutes of charging at a 500-kW fast-charging station.

According to Zeekr's data, the battery is capable of 4.5C charging. Considering 1C means a full charge in one hour, this means it can theoretically take a full charge in 13 minutes. That's even faster than CATL's ShenXing battery. The Chinese manufacturer claims that the Golden Battery is the fastest-charging mass-produced LFP battery in the world.

It's also the most energy-dense LFP battery, thanks in part to clever packaging. According to Zeekr, the Golden Battery has a volume utilization rate of 83.7 percent, this being the first time the industry has seen that number exceeding 80 percent. By comparison, regular LFP batteries have a volume utilization rate under 66 percent, while ternary batteries can get to 72 percent.

Zeekr also brags about the outstanding safety of its new battery. In the fire test, the battery pack withstood 240 seconds of sustained fire in a 700-degree Celsius fire test without catching fire or exploding. This exceeds Chinese standards, which require a battery to survive 130 seconds of sustained fire.