Are pure electric/plug-in hybrid vehicles going crazy? A Chinese company has launched the world's first -40℃ dischargeable hybrid battery that is not afraid of cold

CATL has launched another big move, the "Xiaoyao Battery" designed specifically for hybrid vehicles. As the world's first product with a pure electric range of over 400km and support for 4C supercharging technology, the Xiaoyao Battery has significantly improved the previous shortcomings of hybrid vehicles such as "small power, slow charging, and low-temperature degradation", and can still discharge normally in extreme environments of -40℃.

From transition to mainstream, Xiaoyao battery brings new hope to hybrid vehicles

At present, the market penetration rate of new energy vehicles has reached 53%, of which hybrid models account for 43%. Although such models are often considered a transitional product, they also occupy a pivotal position in the current market. However, the pure electric range of most hybrid models is generally around 200km, and they do not have supercharging function.

For example, the pure electric range of Ideal L6 is 212km (CLTC), and that of Wenjie M7 is 240km (CLTC). BYD's best-selling model Qin PLUS DM has a maximum pure electric range of 101km, and the low-end version is even only 46km. With a pure electric range of 400km, Xiaoyao Battery has greatly improved the performance of hybrid models.

At the same time, Xiaoyao batteries can also achieve rapid energy replenishment, replenishing nearly 300km of energy in ten minutes of charging, and can maintain good discharge performance even in extreme environments of minus 40 degrees Celsius.

Xiaoyao battery for plug-in hybrid combines with the "big battery" solution for pure electric vehicles

So, why not directly apply the long-range batteries of pure electric vehicles to hybrid vehicles?

In fact, the batteries used in hybrid and pure electric vehicles are significantly different in design and use. The former use power-type batteries, which are more expensive and can provide instantaneous high-power output. Early plug-in hybrid models used this type of battery in conjunction with an electric motor to "smooth out the peaks and fill the valleys" of the engine's power; pure electric vehicles use energy-type batteries that support long-term continuous output to meet long-distance driving needs, but their cycle life is relatively short.

Xiaoyao Battery is simply an energy-type hybrid battery. Nowadays, most plug-in hybrid vehicles rely mainly on electric drive, and the fuel tank acts more like a "power bank", so Xiaoyao Battery can fully meet the battery performance requirements of plug-in hybrid vehicles. But this is far from all, Xiaoyao Battery's successful innovation also lies in the introduction of sodium-ion batteries.

Mixing sodium-ion batteries and lithium iron phosphate batteries to achieve a balance between performance and practicality

Currently, lithium-ion batteries are the most widely used technology in the new energy vehicle market. However, CATL innovatively introduced sodium-ion cells into Xiaoyao batteries, which not only improved the safety of the battery, but also enhanced its performance in low-temperature environments. However, sodium-ion batteries also have some limitations, such as low energy density and high weight.

Especially for hybrid models, there are exhaust pipes and fuel tanks on the sides and rear, so achieving long driving range and fast charging in the limited battery pack space has become a major challenge. To address this problem, CATL has adopted a strategy of mixing sodium ion cells and lithium iron phosphate cells, that is, in a battery pack consisting of 126 square cells, only 24 use sodium ion cells, thus achieving a balance between performance and practicality.

Conclusion: At present, Xiaoyao batteries have been used in many brands such as Ideal, Avita, and Deep Blue. However, the introduction of each new technology is often accompanied by high costs, and Xiaoyao batteries are no exception. Taking the Avita 07, which is the first to use this technology, as an example, its pure electric range is 230km and the price starts at 219,900 yuan. It is expected that Xiaoyao batteries with a range of 400km may be used in high-priced models such as Ideal L9.