CATL's new battery charges to 98% in under 7 minutes to challenge BYD

The world's largest battery maker unveiled a suite of new technologies aimed at eliminating range anxiety and charging times, including a battery that adds hundreds of kilometers of range in the time it takes to get a cup of coffee.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) is escalating the electric vehicle battery race, unveiling a new super-fast charging battery that recharges in just over six minutes, directly challenging rival BYD Co. Ltd. The move, announced at CATL’s Super Technology Day in Beijing, aims to solidify its market dominance by addressing the biggest barriers to EV adoption—charging time and range anxiety—while pushing into new battery chemistries.

"For Chinese technology to go global, it relies not just on speed and scale, but on the quality of innovation, the ability to validate, and the credibility of the brand," Robin Zeng, Chairman and CEO of CATL, said at the event.

The third-generation Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery, a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack, can charge from a 10 percent to 98 percent state of charge in just six minutes and 27 seconds. That’s nearly three minutes faster than the nine minutes its chief competitor, BYD’s Blade Battery 2.0, takes to reach a 97 percent charge. CATL’s new battery can charge from 10 to 80 percent in three minutes and 44 seconds and performs robustly in extreme cold, recharging from 20 to 98 percent in nine minutes at temperatures of -30°C (-22°F).

With a 42.1 percent share of the global EV battery market in the first two months of 2026, according to SNE Research, CATL is leveraging its scale to set new industry benchmarks. The ultra-fast charging capability, enabled by a record-low internal resistance of 0.25 milliohms, effectively matches the time it takes to refuel a conventional gasoline vehicle, a critical milestone for convincing mainstream consumers to switch to electric. The advance puts pressure on global automakers, including key customers like Tesla, Toyota, and Xiaomi, to integrate the new technology to stay competitive.

Beyond Speed: 1,000-km Range and New Chemistries

Beyond charging speed, CATL also introduced two new batteries targeting the premium long-range market. The third-generation Qilin battery, with a cell energy density of 280 Wh/kg, enables a 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) driving range in a pack weighing just 625 kg.

Pushing the boundaries further, the company revealed its Qilin Condensed Battery, which applies aviation-grade technology to passenger cars for the first time. This battery achieves a cell energy density of 350 Wh/kg, enabling a range of 1,500 km for sedans.

Significantly, CATL announced its Naxtra sodium-ion battery will enter large-scale mass production by the end of 2026. Having overcome key manufacturing hurdles, the company is ready for GWh-level industrialization of this technology. Sodium-ion batteries do not require lithium or cobalt, offering a lower-cost, resource-resilient alternative that could significantly impact the budget EV and energy storage sectors.

Building the Infrastructure

To support its new hardware, CATL is expanding its energy replenishment network. The company plans to build over 100,000 integrated supercharging and battery-swapping stations across China by the end of 2028 in partnership with automakers including Changan, Chery, and SAIC-GM-Wuling. This unified architecture, where every swapping station is also a supercharging hub, aims to create a seamless refueling experience for drivers and accelerate the transition to electric mobility.

CATL's technological offensive reinforces its indispensable role in the global automotive supply chain. For investors, the company's ability to innovate across multiple battery chemistries—from ultra-fast LFP and high-density NMC to low-cost sodium-ion—creates diversified revenue streams and a formidable competitive moat. These advancements are set to accelerate EV adoption, further pressuring legacy automakers and challenging the entire battery and raw material supply chain.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.