New 800V Zeekr EV battery can charge at 500kW

Zeekr has unveiled its first in-house-developed battery, a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) unit that features in the Chinese EV firm's new 007 saloon.

Called the Golden Battery, it's billed as the world’s first mass-produced 800V LFP battery to offer ultra-fast charging capability. It can accept rates of up to 500kW.

Zeekr claimed the Golden Battery, which is also planned to be used by other Geely-owned brands – including Geometry, Polestar, Proton, Smart, Volvo and possibly Lotus – can be charged from 10-80% in 15 minutes. In the 007, this equates to a range of up to 500km (311 miles).

Zeekr also said its new battery sets new standards in volume utilisation, owing to what it calls “sandwich structure” construction with thin separators between each of the cell modules and an integrated tray design.

With a claimed volume utilisation rate of 83.7%, it surpasses the 72.0% of leading Chinese battery manufacturer CATL’s nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) Qilin battery.

The new battery is also claimed to possess a high level of safety; Zeekr said its cells are extremely fire-resistant and don't explode when subjected to extreme pressures.

In testing, the Golden Battery didn't catch fire or explode after 240sec of sustained fire in a 700deg C test. This is significantly higher than the Chinese national standard of 130sec, according to Zeekr.

The development of the Golden Battery is among the measures being pursued by Zeekr and its parent company Geely to lower manufacturing costs and dependence on outside suppliers. It will be produced at Geely’s battery factory in Quzhou, Zhejiang.

Both the Zeekr 001 and 009 are available in China with CATL’s Qilin battery. The Zeekr X also uses a CATL-developed NMC battery.

Compared with these batteries, the Golden Battery is said to offer manufacturing cost savings of up 14.8%.

The 007 is planned to go on sale in China on 27 December before deliveries begin on 1 January.