A team of executives from Baidu's car-making business Jidu Auto visited power battery giant CATL on Tuesday to discuss a partnership that goes beyond the power battery business, Pingwest reported Tuesday.
The Jidu team that visited CATL included CEO Xia Yiping, head of operations Luo Gang, Xu Hua, who is in charge of quality and supply chain operations, and Jidu's charging team, the report said.
The report comes on the heels of a Tmtpost report that Jidu could be one of the first users of CATL's new sodium-ion batteries, with both companies aiming to complete the upgrade by 2023.
Jidu may consider the latest sodium-ion battery as well as lithium-ion battery technology routes, and has plans to visit CATL in the near future, the Tmtpost report said, citing sources.
However, according to Pingwest, the cooperation between Jidu and CATL will not involve CATL's new sodium-ion battery for now.
(Photo source: Pingwest)
Xia had said that Jidu's first production concept will be unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show next April and will be "90 percent close to production" in terms of appearance and concept, with pre-orders starting by the end of next year and deliveries starting by 2023.
CATL unveiled its first-generation sodium-ion battery on July 29, with a slightly lower energy density than the current lithium iron phosphate battery. However, it has significant advantages in low-temperature performance and fast charging.
The battery's cell-monomer energy density has reached 160Wh/kg, the highest level in the world today, the company said.
The company has already started the industrialization layout of sodium-ion batteries and plans to form a basic industrial chain by 2023, CATL said.
It is worth noting, however, that analysts generally expect the battery to be used mainly in energy storage and low-speed vehicles.
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