14 December 2023
Ultra-fast charging LFP unit to will be used by other Geely-owned brands such as Volvo and Smart
Zeekr has unveiled its first in-house developed battery, a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) unit that features in the Chinese car maker’s new electric-powered 007 saloon, at its Power Day presentation held in China.
Called the Golden Battery, it is billed as the world’s first mass-produced 800-volt LFP battery to offer ultra-fast charging capability.
The peak charging power of the new Zeekr battery is rated at 500kW, while the maximum charging rate is put at 4.5C.
Zeekr claims the Golden Battery, which is also planned to be used by other Geely-operated brands including Volvo, Polestar, Smart, Geom, Proton and, possibly, Lotus, can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent in 15 minutes. In the 007, this equates to a range of up to 500km (311 miles), it says.
Zeekr also says its new battery sets new standards in volume utilisation, owing to what it calls “sandwich structure” construction with thin separators between each of the cell modules and an integrated tray design.
With a claimed volume utilisation rate of 83.7 per cent, the Golden Battery is said to surpass the 72.0 per cent of China’s leading battery manufacturer CATL’s nickel-manganese-cobalt Qilin battery.
The new battery is also claimed to possess a high level of safety. Zeekr says the cells are extremely fire resistant and do not explode when subjected to extreme pressures.
In testing, the Golden Battery did not catch fire or explode after 240 seconds of sustained fire in a 700 degrees Celcius test. This is significantly higher than the Chinese national standard of 130 seconds, according to Zeekr.
The development of the Golden Battery is among the measures being pursued by Zeekr and its parent company Geely to lower manufacturing costs and dependence on outside suppliers. It will be produced at Geely’s battery factory in Quzhou, Zhejiang.
Both the Zeekr 001 and 009 are available in China with CATL’s Qilin battery. The Zeekr X also uses a CATL-developed NMC battery.
Compared to these batteries, the Golden Battery is said to offer manufacturing cost savings of up 14.8 per cent.
The Zeekr 007 is planned to go on sale in China on 27 December, with deliveries set to begin on 1 January, according to information already provided by the two-year-old Geely brand.