Who has better battery technology, CATL or BYD? The difference is obvious after all-round comparison

Looking at the field of power batteries, CATL and BYD account for more than 70% of the market share. Who has the stronger battery technology? After comprehensive comparison, the difference is clear at a glance.

New energy vehicles are inseparable from the core technologies of "electric drive, electronic control, and battery." Among them, power batteries largely determine the overall performance of a new energy vehicle. For power batteries, the core technology mainly lies in energy density, Charge and discharge rate, cycle life, safety and reliability, for car owners, long battery life, fast charging, durable battery, safe and cheap, these are the basic requirements, and based on these characteristics, CATL and BYD have different development routes .

1. The technical routes of the two companies are completely different.

The main advantage of CATL is ternary lithium batteries, of which Kirin battery is one. BYD's main advantage is lithium iron phosphate batteries, among which blade batteries are also well-known. The main advantages of ternary lithium batteries are higher energy density, small size, and more stable charge and discharge performance in low-temperature environments. The pain points are thermal stability deviation, slightly shorter cycle life, high cost, and easy deflagration in extreme high-temperature environments.

Take the Kirin battery independently developed by CATL as an example. It adopts the third generation CTP battery technology. The volume utilization rate of Kirin ternary lithium battery exceeds 72%, and the energy density can reach about 255Wh/kg. Currently, most ternary lithium batteries on the market The energy density of lithium-ion batteries is around 200Wh/kg, and the gap is obvious.

It is also a ternary lithium battery. Tesla's 4680 large cylindrical battery once had high hopes from the industry. However, compared with Ningde's Kirin battery, its energy density is only about 244Wh/kg, but it has not yet achieved mass production, and the mass production time is once delayed.

Judging from the Jikrypton 001 Thousand Miles Edition model equipped with Kirin batteries, its battery capacity is 140kwh, the official comprehensive cruising range can reach 1032 kilometers, and it also has 4C high-voltage fast charging. According to relevant information, charging for 5 minutes can increase the vehicle's range by 120kwh. Mi, among the long-range models that have been mass-produced, Kirin batteries are almost at the "ceiling" level.

BYD's main advantage is lithium iron phosphate batteries. The main advantage is that the battery chemistry is relatively stable, more resistant to high temperatures, and has a longer cycle life. Taking the blade battery as an example, it has withstood the rigorous "needle test".

Simply put, the acupuncture test is to use a thinner steel needle to pierce the battery panel at a faster speed to observe the reaction of the battery. This acupuncture test is equivalent to simulating extreme collisions, extrusions, overcharging, etc. environment, in the acupuncture test, the blade battery still maintained good stability and did not catch fire or burn. When the ordinary ternary lithium battery is similarly acupunctured, the surface temperature of the battery soars rapidly and then begins to burn violently.

In addition, the energy density of the new generation of blade batteries can reach about 180Wh/kg, while the energy density of ordinary lithium iron phosphate batteries is mostly around 150Wh/kg. Although it cannot be compared with Kirin batteries, it is still compared to the same level. type battery, the advantages are very obvious.

Blade Battery pioneered the "direct cooling and direct heating" battery technology, which greatly improves the efficiency of battery preheating and heat dissipation. The charging and discharging performance is upgraded, and the battery life is significantly improved. The number of cycle charging can reach more than 3,000, which is almost more than ordinary ternary lithium batteries. Nearly a thousand cycles of charging.

In 2020, blade batteries will begin mass production. Almost most domestic OEMs have contacted BYD to discuss blade battery cooperation, and Tesla is no exception. According to foreign media reports, Tesla's Berlin factory in Germany, Model Y, has begun to carry BYD Blade battery.

2. There are essential differences between the two development concepts.

BYD itself started out relying on batteries. In the 1990s, BYD began producing mobile phone batteries. By the beginning of 2000, BYD became a battery supplier to mobile phone giants such as Motorola and Nokia, which provided a solid foundation for BYD to develop power batteries.

In 2003, BYD became the world's second largest rechargeable battery manufacturer. At the same time, BYD began to develop power batteries. Early power batteries were mainly supplied to buses, buses and other commercial applications. By around 2010, BYD was already the leader in lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Looking at CATL, its parent company also started producing mobile phone batteries around 2000, but the development of power batteries started in 2011. At that time, in order to stagger competition with BYD, CATL chose ternary lithium batteries in the early stages. this technical route.

By 2016, domestic pure electric vehicles began to appear on the streets, but the battery life of the models at that time was generally within 200 kilometers. To this end, policies encouraged new energy and introduced subsidies one after another, focusing on battery life. The longer, the greater the subsidy.

In those years, there were very few charging technologies and charging piles. To solve the pain points of car owners, long battery life and fast charging became the starting point of car companies at that time. The energy density and charge and discharge performance of ternary lithium batteries are higher than those of lithium iron phosphate batteries. , Therefore, for a long time to come, ternary lithium batteries have become the first choice of most car companies. This is one of the reasons why CATL has overtaken BYD Batteries since 2017.

According to the logic of normal corporate business, when market orientation and policies deviate from one's own, one must adjust one's direction. Seeing that Ningde Times relies on ternary lithium batteries to surpass itself, it stands to reason that BYD will also follow the route of ternary lithium batteries, but BYD But I am obsessed with developing lithium iron phosphate batteries.

why is that? Don't BYD's technical R&D personnel, senior executives of various departments, and Wang Chuanfu know the advantages and pain points of lithium iron phosphate batteries? Of course not, the reason is that BYD and CATL are two completely different companies.

CATL's main focus at that time was to develop and produce power batteries and become a supplier to more car companies. BYD's business scope was very wide. BYD was almost included in the battery, vehicle R&D, manufacturing, and the entire automobile industry chain. Therefore, , fully aware of the importance of every link.

Wang Chuanfu once said: "Safety is the greatest luxury of an electric vehicle." BYD clearly sees that power batteries are a very important core component of new energy vehicles, and safety must be indispensable. In an era when technology cannot completely solve the safety issues of power batteries, more can only be done by relying on the material properties of the battery itself to improve safety.

Although the energy density and low-temperature performance of lithium iron phosphate batteries are not as good as ternary lithium batteries, the chemical activity of the battery materials is more stable, high temperature resistance, long cycle life, and low cost. For this reason, BYD is very confident and insists on using lithium iron phosphate batteries. This technical route invests more energy in developing core technologies such as energy density, low-temperature performance, electronic control, and safety.

At first, the blade battery was only used for some of its own models and was not open to the outside world. Entering 2020, many car companies have launched pure electric models with a range of more than 500 kilometers. The number of charging piles has also continued to increase, and attention to battery life has cooled down.

At the same time, regulators issued a new requirement for power batteries, which roughly means "when a single battery experiences thermal runaway, the battery system is required not to catch fire or burn within 5 minutes to allow time for passengers to evacuate." .

In this context, the safety of power batteries has become the focus of various car companies. At this time, BYD seized the opportunity and announced the global supply of blade batteries. So far, BYD's battery market share has gradually increased from about 6% to about 29%. At this point, BYD and CATL have become the two giants of lithium iron phosphate batteries.

3. Technology has nothing to do with market share, layout is the difference.

In the first quarter of 2023, CATL accounted for more than 46% of the global installed capacity of power batteries, followed by BYD, accounting for more than 21%. CATL’s shipments are more than twice that of BYD. Some people may recognize CATL. More awesome than BYD? In fact, technology and market share are not directly related.

A large market share does not mean strong technology. It is related to industry policies, industrial chain supporting, cost and other factors. Whether it is CATL's Kirin battery or BYD's blade battery, from a technical perspective, almost all lithium batteries have been developed to "Extreme", at this time, many car companies have turned their attention to semi-solid and all-solid-state batteries.

After all, at the current stage, semi-solid batteries have far more advantages than current lithium batteries due to their excellent material properties. Taking the condensed matter battery released by CATL as an example, the energy density of a single unit can reach 500Wh/kg, which is almost three times higher than that of current lithium batteries. More than twice that of lithium-ion batteries means that the battery life will be more than twice that of lithium batteries. In the future, battery life of more than 1,000 kilometers may become the norm.