How BYD, CATL and Gotion are pushing EV batteries to the limit in extreme cold

Since the beginning of the year, lithium‑ion giants CATL, BYD and Gotion High‑tech have unveiled low‑temperature solutions covering materials, application scenarios, and charging infrastructure. Their goal is unmistakable: to win the second half of the electrification race — and it is playing out in the deep freeze.

Industry observers note that electrification has reached a stage where "no low‑temperature performance, no battery" is becoming the new mantra. Charging must tolerate cold, discharging must endure cold, long range demands cold resilience, start‑stop systems require it — passenger cars, commercial vehicles, every segment is now part of an all‑out, multi‑scenario battle against sub‑zero temperatures.

But what exactly defines "low temperature" today? Judging by the favorite winter testing grounds of battery makers and OEMs, the answer lies in northeast China and Inner Mongolia, where winter averages rival those of Antarctica. At -30°C to -40°C, these regions have become the most powerful symbols of cold‑weather capability. Recent intensive winter tests underscore the industry's ambition to finally bring electric vehicles past the traditional geographic divide into the country's frozen north.

Against the -30°C benchmark, BYD's newly unveiled second‑generation Blade Battery pushes low‑temperature flash charging close to the 12‑minute mark. CATL's Tianxing Light Commercial Vehicle Low‑Temp Edition — a sodium‑ion battery — achieves plug‑and‑charge at -30°C without any pre‑heating. Gotion High‑tech's G‑Battery, paired with the Changan Qiyuan A06, survived -40°C extreme cold and 24‑hour outdoor storage while still demonstrating stable 6C ultra‑fast charging.

Where strategies diverge: CATL deploys sodium‑ion technology to compete in both passenger and commercial core sectors, simultaneously integrating battery swapping into a multi‑dimensional ecosystem. BYD, meanwhile, concentrates on improving LFP's low‑temperature charging, linking upstream flash‑charging infrastructure with its vehicle lineup including Denza and the Tang series to build a coherent cold‑weather value chain.

If the first‑generation Blade Battery significantly raised public awareness of LFP safety, the second generation not only remedies LFP's historic low‑temperature weakness but also redefines its value proposition in freezing conditions.

The low‑temperature ecosystem race

Historically, the biggest selling point of battery swapping was a "full recovery in minutes" — far faster than charging. Looking at current charging tech iterations, the 2026 marketing slogan still revolves around "a cup of coffee, ready to go," requiring around 15 minutes of charging time.

BYD's second‑generation Blade, combined with megawatt flash charging, can achieve a normal‑temperature flash charge in under 10 minutes. Even in extreme cold of -30°C, charging from 20% to 97% takes only 12 minutes. The future large‑scale deployment of flash‑charging piles, especially into northern low‑temperature markets, is a critical lever for making BYD's flash‑charge models affordable.

Opening up the northern market cannot be separated from rapid charging infrastructure expansion. Viewed synergistically, the north is not only a significant incremental market for new energy vehicles but also a crucial incremental market for charging and swapping stations — key to the second half of electrification.

From an OEM perspective, BYD's flash‑charging technological barrier is rooted in its own vehicles. Although BYD's flash‑charging piles could eventually be opened up to other brands, the extremely high charging power requires batteries to have higher voltage platforms to match. At present, 800 V has become the threshold for fast‑charging competition. Penetration of 800 V high‑voltage platform vehicles exceeded 10% in 2025, with sales nearing 1.5 million units, and it is forecast to reach 15% in 2026.

On the battery support side, the mainstream cells used in 800 V high‑voltage platforms are 5C batteries. Models such as the Xpeng G9 Max, Nio ET9, Li Mega, Zeekr 007/009 and Xiaomi SU7 Ultra / YU7 are equipped with 5C cells, mainly supplied by CATL, CALB, Eve Energy, Gotion High‑tech and other leading players.

Low‑temperature capability may well become a new value‑add for 800 V high‑voltage models. The Changan Qiyuan A06, fitted with Gotion's G‑Battery, underwent 24 hours of outdoor freezing storage and then leveraged an 800 V SiC high‑voltage platform together with 6C ultra‑fast charging to add 200 km of range in just six minutes of charging.

BYD's flash‑charging, by contrast, may need to match a 1000 V high‑voltage platform to fully realize its charging advantages.

Beyond voltage, price is the next battleground for fast‑charging models. Previously, 800 V high‑voltage models accounted for over 80% of the 200,000 RMB and above mid‑to‑high end segment. Thanks to efforts from BYD, Arcfox, Leapmotor and others, 800 V models have now been popularized to the 150,000–200,000 RMB price bracket.

A new fast‑charging price disruptor is emerging. BYD is pushing 1000 V models into the 200,000 RMB and even 150,000 RMB categories. Less than a week after BYD announced its flash‑charging strategy, it officially launched the Fangchengbao and T3 flash‑edition models, with prices starting at 153,800 RMB.

CATL's low‑temperature ecosystem, meanwhile, integrates materials, passenger/commercial applications, and ultra‑fast charging/battery swapping into a holistic linkage. First, CATL's "Naxin" sodium‑ion battery has begun mass deployment in Changan's multiple brands — Avatr, Shenlan, Qiyuan, and Graviera. Second, CATL plans to complete over 3,000 "Choco" battery‑swap stations nationwide this year, covering more than 140 cities, with over 600 stations in cold regions such as Beijing‑Tianjin‑Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia and Shanxi. Its Choco swap matrix includes sodium‑cell models and light‑commercial swap vehicles.

Material innovations under freezing conditions

The advent of LFP low‑temperature flash charging could rewrite the competitive landscape among lithium chemistries (LFP, NMC, LMFP) and other material systems, especially sodium‑ion.

First, it challenges NMC materials. In the past, ultra‑fast charging batteries usually adopted NMC chemistry to achieve higher rates and range. BYD's move pushes LFP performance to its limits, breaking the traditional trade‑off between fast charge, energy density and cycle life, while maximizing LFP's cost advantage.

Second, it impacts LFP itself. Previously, improving LFP's low‑temperature performance relied mainly on manganese doping. Industry speculation suggests that BYD's second‑generation Blade Battery uses an LMFP (lithium manganese iron phosphate) material system. LMFP's low‑temperature performance is one of its most critical upgrades over traditional LFP, achieving around 80% capacity retention at -20°C.

CATL, too, brings its own material‑based solution. CATL chairman Robin Zeng previously stated that in large‑scale applications, LMFP batteries outperform LFP in cost reduction, energy density and low‑temperature performance. As early as 2023, CATL's M3P battery (LMFP based) was already used in several versions of the Zhijie S7, and has since been implemented in models such as the Zhijie R7, Xiangjie S9 and Exeed Yaoguang.

A multi‑material matrix is evident. Sodium‑ion is also a crucial pillar of CATL's low‑temperature ecosystem. Last year CATL launched several dual‑chemistry batteries, among which the LFP + sodium dual‑cell offers a combined solution: lithium for range, sodium for low‑temperature resilience. Passenger cars equipped with the Naxin battery see nearly three times the discharge power at -30°C compared to conventional LFP models with the same energy, capacity retention exceeding 90% at -40°C, and stable discharge even at -50°C.

On the commercial side, CATL's Tianxing Light Commercial Vehicle Low‑Temp Edition — the first mass‑produced sodium‑cell for light commercial use — can be fully frozen at -30°C and still achieve plug‑and‑charge without pre‑conditioning.

What becomes clear is that the narrative around low‑temperature battery performance has never been about a single material system or a single application scenario. It is the result of multi‑party ecosystem building and deep technological accumulation.

Edit by paco

Last Update:2026-03-16 10:03:40