Chinese battery giant CATL just unveiled a new battery that can charge from nearly empty to full in under seven minutes. The Shenxing battery uses a different chemistry than most phone and car batteries, but charges faster than anything currently available.
What makes this exciting isn’t just the speed. Most fast-charging batteries fail in cold weather, leaving you stranded with a dead phone in winter. CATL’s new battery actually heats itself up and works fine even in freezing Arctic temperatures.
Finally, Batteries That Work in Winter
The breakthrough comes from using lithium iron phosphate, a battery chemistry that’s usually slower but more stable than what’s in your iPhone. CATL figured out how to make it charge at lightning speed while keeping all the benefits of being safer and working in extreme cold.
CATL makes batteries for Tesla and other major companies, so this technology will likely end up in cars first, then phones and laptops. The company claims their self-heating system means you won’t have to worry about your electric car refusing to charge during a winter storm.
Expect to see this technology in electric vehicles within the next two years. Phone companies will probably adopt it shortly after, though they’ll need to redesign their devices to handle the faster charging speeds safely.
