On August 5th, Mercedes-Benz and CATL announced that they would deepen their cooperation in the field of power battery technology. In order to support the large-scale electrification of the Mercedes-Benz model lineup, CATL will provide advanced batteries, modules, and battery systems that meet carbon-neutral standards.
The content of the agreement covers power battery technology in various fields, including providing batteries and modules for passenger car products, providing overall battery systems for light commercial vehicle products, and possessing innovative technical indicators. In addition, CATL will also provide CTP (Cell To Pack) designs for some projects, eliminating the need for traditional battery modules and directly integrating batteries into the battery pack.
The battery cell is the core of the battery system and also has a key impact on the performance, cruising range, and service life of electric vehicles. The lithium battery technology jointly developed by the two parties will be applied to new models launched by Mercedes-Benz in the next few years. Research and development goals include shortening the research and development cycle, increasing battery life by increasing energy density, and reducing charging time.
It is reported that the luxury pure electric sedan EQS equipped with CATL battery modules will be delivered in 2021, and its cruising range will exceed 700 kilometers (WLTP standard), and the charging speed will be twice as fast as existing models.
In addition to new cars, Mercedes-Benz also values the carbon-neutral goal of its passenger car product lineup and hopes to promote the transformation of its travel mode to carbon neutral. To this end, CATL will use renewable energy such as wind, solar, and hydropower in battery production. The carbon-neutral production of battery cells alone can reduce the carbon footprint of the entire battery by more than 30%.
The cooperation between Mercedes-Benz and CATL will further promote the localization and industrialization of German lithium-ion batteries. With the advancement of the construction of CATL’s Thuringia plant, Mercedes-Benz has also further increased the localized procurement rate of its supply chain. However, Mercedes-Benz will also purchase power battery cells and battery packs from different partners in the global market to build a balanced and competitive supplier portfolio. In the future, Mercedes-Benz will deploy a power battery production network in nine factories around the world, and the localization of power batteries is also an important factor in its electrification strategy.
