CATL unveils new battery solution for eHGVs

CATL has presented a new swap battery system coupled with a permanently installed extra battery. The main battery offers 432 or 513 kWh and can be exchanged at swap stations. In addition, there is the permanently installed "range-extender" battery with 77 kWh, which acts as a reserve.

Image: CATL

The Chinese battery giant presented its new system in Beijing on Tuesday. CATL is positioning this as a battery option for heavy-duty electric trucks, with plans to market it under the name “Dual-Electric Range Extender” technology. In a statement, CATL told electrive that the main battery, which is installed in the underbody with capacities of 432 or 513 kWh, will be available through a flexible leasing model “to reduce upfront costs”.

To support the new technology, CATL aims to further expand its ‘QiJi’ battery swap station network. The company has standardised the battery blocks used in the new system into two sizes: the 260# swap block (432 kWh) for vehicles with a wheelbase of 3.8 metres and the 300# (513 kWh) for trucks with a wheelbase of 4.2 metres. This ensures the batteries are interchangeable within the QiJi swap system. Combined with the permanently installed 77 kWh auxiliary battery located behind the cab, the total system capacity reaches 509 kWh or 590 kWh, respectively.

With this new approach, CATL aims to “optimise battery usage and reduce operating costs for fleets”. During the presentation, CATL also publicly signed contracts with 14 partners to adopt the system, including SF Express, ZTO Express and YTO Express – three of China’s major logistics and parcel delivery providers. The initial order volume is stated as 13,000 units.

Fundamentally, the “Dual-Electric Range Extender” technology is initially designed for CATL’s home market, where the manufacturer’s battery swap station network – essential for this approach – is primarily expanding. By the end of the year, CATL aims to have 900 battery swap stations for heavy-duty trucks in operation, increasing to 2,000 units over the course of next year. In the long term, CATL plans to establish a total of 10,000 stations in China together with partners.

For those wondering why CATL has installed a reserve battery alongside the large swap battery, the manufacturer provides the following context: drivers of trucks with conventional swap batteries typically return to the swap station when the charge level is around 30 per cent, according to the company. This leaves part of the leased battery capacity unused. This is where the additional reserve battery comes into play: its “buffer” allows the depth of discharge (DoD) of the main battery to be increased from around 70 to over 95 per cent. CATL states that this enables truck drivers to head to the swap station only when the main battery’s charge level drops to around five percent – without the risk of running out of power on board.

At this five percent state of charge (SoC) threshold, “CATL’s seamless switching technology transfers power delivery to the range-extension battery within milliseconds, maintaining a continuous and stable power supply,” the manufacturer specifies. The main battery is therefore never fully depleted.

The system is based on CATL’s so-called “1+X” architecture, in which the main battery is standardised to ensure compatibility with the swap network, while the range extender battery remains individually configurable.

Image: CATL

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Conversely, CATL’s Qiji swap network for trucks will now support not only the 75# battery block with 171 kW introduced in 2025, but also the 260# and 300# types with 432 kWh and 513 kWh, respectively. According to CATL, a new generation of Qiji swap stations will allow battery swaps in just 5 minutes. Additionally, “the station requires no excavation pit and can be constructed in just 5 days,” the company stated.

According to _CN EV News_, the company is also adjusting its billing model for its Battery-as-a-Service offering by “charging customers for net energy charged rather than energy discharged, allowing them to retain the benefits of regenerative braking”. CATL claims this change can reduce battery leasing costs per kWh for users on basic tariffs by up to 20 per cent.

CATL fundamentally sees significant potential for battery swapping in road freight transport. Earlier this summer, the company acquired a nearly 25 percent stake in Qiyuan Green Power, the largest operator of battery swap stations for heavy-duty trucks in China. Through this investment, CATL can unite two battery swap technologies under one roof: its own Qiji system and Qiyuan Green Power’s swap system.

Qiyuan Green Power’s battery swap solution is designed for rear-mounted installations. This system is said to be known for its high compatibility and fits over 80 per cent of the heavy-duty trucks with battery swap capabilities in China according to an August article from _Car News China_. This approach is primarily used in closed or semi-public environments such as mines, ports, steel plants and urban construction sites.

CATL’s own battery swap system, branded as Qiji, focuses on the truck chassis. China’s battery giant now applies this approach to passenger cars, vans and trucks—offering various sizes of standardised swap batteries at its stations, referred to as ‘Choco-SEB’. SEB stands for “Swapping Electric Blocks,” and the name “Choco” is inspired by the appearance of a chocolate bar with its individual ‘blocks’. According to _Car News China_, the Qiji brand primarily targets China’s national highway logistics network.

Regarding the network’s scope, this is what we know so far: by the end of 2025, Qiyuan Green Power’s network is expected to have established over 1,600 charging and battery swap stations across 208 prefecture-level cities. CATL’s Qiji brand is expected to have around 300 stations by the end of 2025 – and aims to reach the aforementioned target of 900 stations by the end of the current year.

The battery swap market for trucks in China continues to grow dynamically. One German manager with deep knowledge of this market is Klaus Sekot, Managing Director of Bosch MC Battery Service Innovations – a joint venture founded in 2025 by Bosch and Mitsubishi Corporation, based in Ludwigsburg. The new company specialises in Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) solutions and recently celebrated the debut of its customer project at a truck battery swap station in Chizhou.

In an interview with electrive this summer, Sekot explained that there are currently three parallel battery swap standards for trucks in China. He also noted that China has been deliberately developing the battery swapping market since the early 2020s for industrial policy reasons. According to Sekot’s information, nearly 30,000 swap-compatible heavy-duty trucks were newly registered in China in 2024. Read the full interview here.