CATL’s Qilin battery, the third generation of its cell-to-pack (CTP) technology, will be first used on models from Geely Holding’s ZEEKR brand, both companies announced on Saturday.

The battery electric ZEEKR 009 MPV will be the first mass-produced vehicle model with Qilin inside and the Qilin-powered version will commence the delivery in the first quarter of 2023. 

Besides, the ZEEKR 001 will become the first model with 1,000km range Qilin battery, according to the battery company. The brand will start to deliver the Qilin-powered ZEEKR 001 in the second quarter of 2023.

Both parties have signed a five-year strategic cooperation agreement. Their deep cooperation is expected to promote the advancement of new energy vehicle technologies.

The Qilin, which is named after a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, features a record-breaking volume utilization efficiency of 72% and an energy density of up to 255 Wh/kg, and is capable of delivering a range of over 1,000 km in a breeze.

Thanks to the disruptive large-surface cell cooling technology, the battery, launched only two months ago, can support a hot start in 5 minutes and fast charging in 10 minutes. Compared with the 4680 battery with the same chemical system and the same pack size, CATL’s Qilin package can offer 13% more power, the battery giant said.

On the same day, CATL also announced that its Qilin battery will also power new models from Huawei-backed AITO brand.  Based on their five-year long-term strategic cooperation agreement, all AITO-branded models will be equipped with EV batteries of CATL.