On November 25, CATL launched its Tectrans series of batteries for heavy-duty commercial vehicles. The new series achieves range, charging speed, and safety breakthroughs, opening up further possibilities for the electrification of heavy-duty commercial vehicles.
Breaking Through Five Major Technical Barriers to Set New Standards for Electrifying Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicles
As the electrification of heavy-duty commercial vehicles speeds up, several limitations have become increasingly apparent, hindering the further growth of the pure electric heavy-duty commercial vehicle market. Key challenges such as limited range, slow charging, and rapid battery degradation demand urgent solutions.
CATL's Tectrans batteries for heavy-duty commercial vehicles are now available in superfast charging, long life, long range, and high strength (designed for construction machinery) versions to address these issues. With their innovative "Five Highs" technology, these batteries are setting new industry standards, enabling electric heavy-duty commercial vehicles to expand beyond traditional applications and become suitable for a wide range of applications.
The CATL Tectrans superfast charging version boasts a peak 4C superfast charging capability, achieving 70% SOC in 15 minutes. It also offers an impressive lifespan of 1.2 million kilometers, a maximum capacity of 600 kWh, and a range of up to 500 kilometers on a singe charge. In short-distance scenarios such as mineral, construction waste, and ready-mix concrete transportation, this version can significantly reduce charging time for electric heavy-duty trucks, substantially increasing profitability.
The CATL Tectrans long life version offers an exceptionally long lifespan of 15 years or three million kilometers, overcoming the typical battery life constraints of heavy-duty trucks. It alleviates possible capacity degradation due to frequent charging and discharging in high-energy-consumption scenarios such as heavy-load and medium-to-long-haul transportation. Additionally, this long life version provides a range of up to 500 kilometers, making it well-suited for a variety of tasks.
Through supporting battery swap technology, the latest Tectrans model allows users to choose between charging, swapping, upgrading, leasing, purchasing, and selling back, all of which help reduce operating costs for end users.
The CATL Tectrans long range version achieves a full-chassis layout with 1,000 kWh of battery capacity for the first time, providing an ultra-long range of 800 kilometers. This breaks the long-distance limitations for electric heavy-duty trucks, making it ideal for cross-provincial tasks like express delivery and freight, while significantly extending vehicles’service radius.
With an industry-leading energy density of 200 Wh/kg, the long range version maximizes vehicle cargo space thanks to its full-chassis design, which also boosts user profitability.
The CATL Tianxing high strength version is specifically engineered for construction machinery. It maintains high safety even after 500,000 kilometers of use in harsh mining conditions, representing an 4-fold improvement over the industry's 100,000-kilometer standard durability, ensuring safe and reliable operations at all times.
This version has already begun mass production and is being used in over 20 models from eight construction machinery manufacturers, including Tonly, LiuGong, XCMG, Breton, XEMC, North Hauler, HATL, and LGMG, driving continuous progress in the industry.
Moreover, the high-strength version uniquely features the "Mount Tai Architecture," making the best of integrated technology. This design increases volume utilization by 40%, meets the IP68 waterproof class, and withstands direct water washing. Its corrosion resistance is twice the industry norm. The battery pack is also equipped with an "armor coating" that protects against electrochemical corrosion, ensuring optimal performance even in extreme environments.
Driving the Leapfrogging of Commercial Vehicle Electrification
As a leader in power battery innovation, CATL has continually addressed the technical challenges of heavy-duty truck electrification since 2017, helping the sector achieve zero to one transformation.
From 2020 to 2023, CATL held the top spot in domestic heavy-duty truck battery installations for four consecutive years, with leading Chinese companies like Yutong and DeepWay exclusively using CATL batteries. CATL has established itself as the global leader in construction machinery batteries, capturing a 30% share of the construction machinery market.
Tectrans is CATL's first brand targeting commercial vehicles, providing all-scenario solutions for the commercial vehicle sector and striving to open up an anxiety-free era for commercial vehicles. Since July 2024, CATL has launched the Tectrans L - superfast charging and long range versions and the Tectrans B - bus version designed for the logistics and public transportation sectors. Now, its products cover all categories of commercial vehicles.