China's CATL to Supply Honda with 123 GWh of Electric Vehicle Batteries by 2030
【Summary】Japan's Honda Motor Co has signed a major deal with Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (“CATL”) to supply electric vehicle batteries over the next seven years. From 2024 through 2030, Honda will purchase 123 GWh of batteries from CATL for its new fully electric vehicle brand “e:N” that was announced in October of last year.

Japan's Honda Motor Co has signed a major deal with Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited ("CATL") to supply electric vehicle batteries over the next seven years. From 2024 through 2030, Honda will purchase 123 GWh of batteries from CATL for its new fully electric vehicle brand "e:N" that was announced in October of last year.
Honda plans to launch 10 new fully-electric vehicles for the China market by 2027 under its e:N brand.
The partnership between the two companies goes back to 2020, when Honda and CATL signed an agreement to form a strategic alliance that will provide the automaker with a stable supply of batteries through 2030. The agreement includes joint development and the recycling and reuse of used batteries.
The electric vehicle batteries for Honda EVs sold in China will be produced in CATL's production base in Yichun, east China's Jiangxi Province.
Honda is looking to catch up to its rivals in the EV segment. In May, the automaker announced an investment of $40 billion over the next 10 years to launch up to 30 all-electric vehicles globally by 2030.
Shinji Aoyama, Honda's global head of electrification, said earlier this year that Honda is targeting North American EV production of 750,000-800,000 electric vehicles in 2030, and roughly the same number in China, which is the world's biggest auto market. Honda also plans to produce another 400,000-500,000 EVs in Japan and other markets.
Honda is also working with battery maker LG Energy Solutions (LGES), which is a unit of South Korea-based LG Chem.
In August, Honda and LGES announced plans to invest $4.4 billion to build a joint venture electric vehicle battery factory in the U.S. The factory will produce lithium ion batteries for Honda and Acura vehicles for the North American market. The battery plant aims to have an annual production capacity of approximately 40 GWh, which is enough batteries to power up to 500,000 vehicles.
The location of the EV battery factory has not yet been finalized by the two companies. Once a site is selected, construction is expected to begin in early 2023, with the mass production of advanced lithium-ion battery cells beginning by the end of 2025.
CATL is now a major battery supplier to automakers. The company is the world's biggest producer of EV batteries. In 2021, CATL's lithium-ion battery sales were 133.4 GWh, which represented a 184.8% year-on-year increase. The company's net income for 2021 more than doubled to 15.93 billion yuan ($2.47 billion).
CATL is also Tesla's battery supplier for the vehicles built in Shanghai. But the company has also entered into strategic partnerships with Ford Motor Co, Fisker Inc, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, as well as Chinese automakers Great Wall Motor, Li Auto and NIO Inc, according to its annual report.
In Dec 2021, CATL began phase 1 production at its new EV battery factory in China. The first phase of operations will have an annual capacity of 60 GWh and the second phase will also be 60 GWh for a total of 120 GWh of battery production.
The plant will be the world's largest EV battery factory and three times bigger than Tesla's gigafactory in Nevada.
In July, CATL announced a new advanced EV battery design named the "Qinlin." The energy-dense cell-to-pack (CTP) battery allows an electric vehicle to travel 1,000 km (621 miles) "in a breeze", according to CATL.
The Qilin battery is the third generation of CATL's cell-to-pack (CTP) battery technology. The battery achieves the world's highest volume utilization efficiency of 72% and an energy density of up to 255 Wh/kg, which CATL says can deliver ranges of over 600 miles. For comparison, the Tesla Model 3 using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry has a cell to pack ratio of 49% with an energy density of 173 Wh/L.
CATL's new Qilin battery can be a game changer for the auto industry and lead to the widespread global adoption of electric vehicles. The Qilin batteries are expected to be mass produced and launched in 2023.
-
Ford is Testing a New Robotic Charging Station to Assist Drivers of EVs With Disabilities
-
Ford Raises the Prices of the F-150 Lightning Electric Pickup Due to Rising Raw Material Costs
-
The BMW 7-Series to Feature HD Live Maps From HERE Technologies for Hands-Free Highway Driving in North America at Speeds up to 80 MPH
-
AutoX to Use the 'Eyeonic Vision Sensor' from California-based SiLC Technologies for its Robotaxi Fleet in China
-
LG Develops ‘Invisible’ Speaker Sound Technology That Could Revolutionize In-Vehicle Audio
-
Researchers at South Korea’s Chung-Ang University Develop a ‘Meta-Reinforcement’ Machine Learning Algorithm for Traffic Lights to Improve Vehicle Throughput
-
Zeekr’s New 009 Electric Passenger Van is the World’s First EV to Feature CATL’s Advanced ‘Qilin’ Battery With a Range of 510 Miles
-
Redwood Materials is Building an Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling Facility in South Carolina
- BorgWarner Invests $500 Million in Wolfspeed Inc, a Developer of Semiconductors and Silicon Carbide Devices for Electric Vehicles
- Toyota to Collaborate with Redwood Materials to Build a Closed Loop, EV Battery Recycling Ecosystem in the U.S.
- Toyota Offering Multiple Solutions for Non-Drivable bZ4X Electric SUVs
- BMW i Ventures Invests in Vendia, a Next-Gen Blockchain Company Helping Businesses to Securely Share Data With Third Parties
- New Senate Deal Would Expand EV Tax Credits
- GM CEO Mary Barra Shares the First Look at the New Chevy Blazer EV Launching in Spring 2023
- Lucid Group Hires Key Executives that Formerly Worked for Mercedes-Benz and Tesla as it Prepares for Global Expansion and Production Ramp Up
- Ralph Nader Calls for NHTSA to Remove Tesla Full Self-Driving
- LiDAR developer Luminar Technologies Hires Ex Apple, Tesla and Nvidia Execs as it Prepares for Growth
- Tesla’s Model 3 is Reportedly Getting a Redesign to Make it More Appealing as Competition in the EV Segment Grows