CATL Unveils World’s First Super Hybrid Battery: Freevoy, Pure Electric Range Over 400km + 4C Fast Charging

CATL, the world’s largest electric vehicle battery maker, launched the Freevoy Super Hybrid Battery on October 24th, the world’s first hybrid battery with an all-electric range of more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) and 4C ultra-fast charging. The new battery provides an electric vehicle-like experience, ushering in a new era of high-capacity, extended-capacity, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle batteries.

With a new wave of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) launching in China and other major global auto markets, CATL is making it easier than ever to go electric.

A transformative solution, Freevoy hybrid battery redefines PHEV and EREV batteries

At a time when consumer interest in hybrid vehicles is growing, CATL is positioning its latest battery as a solution to the shortcomings commonly associated with PHEVs and EREVs. More specifically, the Freevoy battery addresses the issues of lack of range, slow charging times, and degraded performance in cold temperatures.

The range of the CATL Freevoy far exceeds the all-day electric-only commute range of many plug-in hybrids, with the goal of completing a week’s worth of commuting on just the battery on a single charge, with an estimated range of 249 miles (400 kilometers).

The Freevoy is called a “Super Hybrid Battery” not only because of the vehicles it powers, but also because of its chemistry. It utilizes CATL’s AB architecture, which combines sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries in a specified ratio into a single battery pack. This improves cold weather performance and is claimed to extend low-temperature range by 5 percent and provide a seamless driving experience in temperatures as low as -20 °C (-4 °F). In addition, CATL says the battery can be discharged at temperatures as low as -40 °C (-40 °F) and recharged at temperatures as low as -30 °C (-22 °F).

On the charging side, Freevoy batteries benefit from CATL’s 4C ultra-rapid charging technology, which provides a full 174-mile (280-kilometer) range in just 10 minutes. Fast ion conductor coatings on the cathode, fast-charging graphite and novel nano-coating technology on the anode, a multi-gradient layered electrode design, and an ultra-high conductivity electrolyte formulation ensure rapid lithium-ion transfer.

In terms of safety, the  Freevoy Super Hybrid Battery is equipped with the second-generation non-heat diffusion technology and the first active isolation technology between smoke and high voltage, which reduces the defective rate of the electric cell monomer to the PPB level. At the same time, the “Snapdragon” battery also supports two-way interaction and reverse power delivery.

CATL’s 249-mile estimate is several times more than the current-generation PHEV ranges to which we’re accustomed. In the US, for instance, all-electric ranges on new 2023/24 PHEV models top out at 51 miles (82 km, Range Rover P440e) – just over 20% of CATL’s quoted range. And that’s an outlier, with most ranges falling between 20 and 40 miles (32 and 64 km).

The contrast isn’t as stark in China, where more PHEVs have been achieving combined range ratings over 621 miles (1,000 km). The all-electric component of those ranges varies widely across vehicles, but the Voyah Free 318 took the overall PHEV electric range crown a few months ago with a claimed 198-mile (318-km) range that’s already about 80% of CATL’s target.

So maybe 250 miles isn’t so crazy for the Chinese market.

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