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Global battery giant CATL and Vietnamese EV automaker Vinfast announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to expand upon their current battery supply agreement. With this new “strategic cooperation,” the companies will explore CIIC skateboard platforms for EVs and “other areas” surrounding EV and battery technology.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, better known as CATL, is the current leader in EV battery manufacturing, not only in China where it is headquartered but around the entire globe. The company recently began expanding its production footprint to other continents like Europe and North America, while it continues to push the potential of battery cell chemistry forward.

This includes the production of its new M3P cells before they debut next year, and CATL’s third-generation of cell-to-pack (CTP) battery construction called “Qilin” – which promises a record-breaking volume utilization efficiency of 72% and an energy density of up to 255 Wh/kg.

As part of a previous deal, CATL provides its CTP batteries to Vinfast EVs, as the young Vietnamese automaker looks to carve out its own reputation in the global EV market. With first deliveries of its flagship VF 8 EVs underway, Vinfast looks to expand its relationship with CATL to develop, implement, and promote future battery technologies.

VinFast VF 8 EV
VinFast VF 8 / Source: VinFast

Vinfast looks to put future EVs on CATL’s skateboard platform

According to a press release by CATL, part of the signing of its MOU with Vinfast includes the intention to “explore various forms of cooperation on CIIC skateboard chassis on top of the current cooperation on CTP (cell-to-pack) battery supply between the two companies.”

Rather than integrate CATL’s CTP battery technology into existing Vinfast EV chassis, the CATL integrated intelligent chassis (CIIC) skateboard design positions the packs, electric motors, and other vital components into a single layer at the bottom of the EV.

This is a design method that’s quickly being adopted around the EV industry because it not only lowers energy consumption and maximizes interior space, but gives companies like Vinfast more design freedom thanks to a ground-up process that includes a completely flat canvas.

CATL founder and chairman Dr. Robin Zeng was alongside Vingroup and Vinfast EV chairman Pham Nhat Vuong, for the signing of the memorandum of understanding. In addition to building off their current CTP deal and exploration in CIIC skateboard chassis, the companies said they will work together to promote battery innovation and the world’s transition to electric mobility. Per the release:

By leveraging CATL’s cutting-edge batteries, VinFast’s innovative EVs will reach new heights in terms of range, safety, and intelligent driving. The cooperation will also enable CATL to enhance its global footprint, especially in emerging markets, and promote the application of new EV technologies. The elevated cooperation will enable both companies to promote innovation of battery technologies and global e-mobility, contributing to global drive for energy transition and carbon neutrality goals.

Vinfast’s first two EV models, the VF 8 and VF 9, are available to reserve now.

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World’s largest EV maker unveils new sodium battery electric motorbikes

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World's largest EV maker unveils new sodium battery electric motorbikes

Yadea, which has claimed the title of the world’s largest electric vehicle maker for seven years running, has just announced a new electric motorbike powered by the company’s innovative HuaYu sodium-ion battery technology.

Yadea has long dominated the electric two-wheeler and three-wheeler market globally, but has generally relied on both lithium-ion and lead acid batteries to power its vehicles in different markets.

The newly unveiled electric scooter uses Yadea’s recently introduced sodium battery technology, offering what the company says is outstanding performance in range, charging speed, and safety. Using the HuaYu Sodium Superfast Charging Ecosystem presented by Yadea, the battery can reach 80% charge in just 15 minutes, providing greater convenience for riders.

Yadea’s sodium battery has successfully passed more than 20 safety tests, many focusing on its resistance to fire and explosions under extreme conditions like punctures and compression.

Yadea’s new sodium battery offers an energy density of 145 Wh/kg and a lifespan of up to 1,500 cycles at room temperature, with the company rating it for a five-year useful lifespan. It also includes a three-year warranty for added assurance.

With excellent low-temperature capabilities, the battery retains over 92% of its discharge capacity at -20°C, making it well-suited for colder climates.

Sodium batteries present major advantages

Most electric vehicles used in the West, especially electric two-wheelers, rely on lithium-ion batteries for their high energy density. But sodium-ion batteries offer many benefits over traditional lithium-ion batteries.

Sodium is an abundant element on the planet and is easily accessible, unlike lithium, which is concentrated in specific regions and often expensive to extract. This abundance can make sodium-ion batteries cheaper to produce, reducing costs for EV manufacturers and potentially making electric vehicles more affordable.

Lithium mining also has environmental challenges, such as water depletion and habitat destruction. Sodium, on the other hand, can be sourced from seawater or common salts, offering a more sustainable and environmentally friendly option.

Sodium-ion batteries are less prone to overheating and thermal runaway compared to lithium-ion batteries. This makes them inherently safer for electric vehicles, reducing the risk of fires and improving consumer confidence in EV technology.

Sodium-ion batteries perform better than lithium-ion in cold climates. Lithium-ion batteries struggle with capacity retention in freezing conditions, but sodium batteries maintain efficiency, making them ideal for EVs in colder regions.

Sodium batteries still have challenges to overcome

While sodium-ion batteries are promising, they currently have a lower energy density than lithium-ion batteries, meaning they store less energy per unit of weight.

For EVs, this translates to shorter driving ranges for the same-sized battery. That’s especially important in electric two-wheelers like motorbikes and electric bicycles, which don’t have much extra space for storing bulky batteries.

However, advancements in cathode materials and battery architecture are quickly closing this gap, which Yadea has demonstrated. These sodium-ion batteries still can’t match the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, but as they continue to improve their energy density, the technology’s other major advantages provide encouraging signs for larger adoption in the industry.

Yadea’s status as a major electric motorbike maker also means that its adoption of sodium-ion battery technology could help lead the entire industry towards this battery chemistry, bringing safety and performance benefits along with it.

Last year I had the unique opportunity to visit one of Yadea’s global manufacturing sites.

To see inside the company’s massive and highly-automated manufacturing processes, check out the video below!

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CES2025 | John Deere autonomous mower promises a perfect cut, every time

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CES2025 | John Deere autonomous mower promises a perfect cut, every time

At CES2025, the impressively built-out John Deere exhibit was all about automation. Autonomous job sites, autonomous farms … but it was this new, battery electric, autonomous lawn mowing robot that stole the show.

The self-driving Deere mower robot was positively dwarfed by the giant farm machinery surrounding it, but it continues to prove that humans will pack bond with anything as more than one burly-looking and grizzled man asked what its name was. (It’s Howard. I’ll fight you.)

For his part, Howard packs a 21.4 kWh battery pack that runs a suite of electric motors that includes a drive motor and three cutting blade motors spread across a 60 inch cutting deck – but it’s not the electric motors that make John Deere’s little robot mower cool, it’s the way it works.

See, instead of using “just” GPS data or “just” repeating a pre-recorded run, Howard can do something in between. The way it was explained to me, you would ride the stand-up mower around the perimeter of the area you wanted to mow, select a pattern, then hop off, fold up the platform, and let it loose. Howard mows just the way you would, leaving you to focus on edging, planting, or (let’s face it) schmoozing with the clients.

It’s exactly the sort of help landscapers are looking for.

But that should come as no surprise, of course. John Deere, perhaps more than most companies, knows its customer. “We’ve been in the turf business for 60 years — it’s a core part of Deere,” says Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer at John Deere, explaining things beautifully. “The work that’s being done in this industry is incredibly labor intensive … they’re not just doing the mowing work. They’re doing the tree trimming, maintaining flowerbeds and all these other jobs. The mowing is table stakes, though, for them to get the business. It’s the thing they have to do in order to get the higher value work.”

Tim Lewis, lead engineer with the commercial automatous mower, told Lawn & Landscape that the industry in general has a high turnover rate as well, making it difficult to hang to people who know where one job ends and another begins. “There’s a lot of nuances it takes to do these jobs effectively,” he explains, “so “Autonomy can help with that.”

The John Deere autonomous commercial mower (there’s no snazzy alphanumeric, yet) leverages the same camera technology as other Deere autonomous machines, but on a smaller scale (since the machine has a smaller footprint). With two cameras each on the front, left, right, and rear sides of the little guy, he has a 360-degree view of the world and enough AI to lay down a pattern, avoid an obstacle, and shut off if it thinks it’s about to mow down something (read: someone) it shouldn’t.

John Deere will have Howard on display through tomorrow at CES in the LVCC’s West Hall. If you’re in town, be sure to go say hi.

John Deere CES2025

SUOURCE | IMAGES: John Deere; Electrek.

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Tesla sales fall, Honda brings back ASIMO, and a bunch of stuff from CES2025

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Tesla sales fall, Honda brings back ASIMO, and a bunch of stuff from CES2025

Despite big discounts and 0% financing, Tesla sales are down for the first time in a decade … but there’s even bigger robot news with the return of Honda ASIMO, a flying car from China, and a whole lot more from today’s episode of Quick Charge!

CES2025 was all about AI – and not just what AI could do, but what AI could do for you. That’s where ASIMO comes in, helping everyone have a better time in there car and not at all just a modern day version of KITT dreamed up by a bunch of Gen X executives (wink, wink). We also cover some neat stuff from Suzuki, Aptera, Volvo, and more. Enjoy!

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news!

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.

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