contemporary amperex technology co., limited (catl) has officially unveiled a groundbreaking battery architecture—“one shell, dual cells”—which for the first time enables the coordinated deployment of both lithium-ion and sodium-ion cells within a unified physical package. this design maintains the original battery casing structure, dimensions, and interface standards; by simply flexibly switching the internal module configuration, it can accommodate different chemistries, significantly reducing development complexity and production-line modification costs for automakers and energy-storage system integrators.
traditionally, battery technology upgrades have been highly disruptive: switching cell chemistries often requires redesigning the battery pack structure, reconfiguring the thermal management system, and even adjusting the vehicle’s chassis layout. in contrast, the “one shell, dual cells” solution prioritizes compatibility—manufacturers can continue using the same battery-pack platform while dynamically selecting either lithium or sodium batteries as the core power unit based on regional climate, application scenarios, and economic considerations, truly achieving “unchanged hardware, adaptable capabilities.”
this architecture is particularly well-suited to applications in extremely cold regions. current mainstream lithium-iron-phosphate batteries experience significant capacity fade and limited power output below -20°c; by contrast, catl’s proprietary sodium-ion batteries demonstrate exceptional low-temperature performance, maintaining over 85% of their discharge efficiency even at -30°c. this means that the same battery-swap stations can seamlessly support diverse battery configurations across northern and southern regions without requiring additional specialized equipment, providing a unified and flexible energy‑delivery platform for large-scale automated battery‑swap networks.
the concurrently released performance data for the sodium-ion batteries further underscores their commercial value: individual cells achieve a cycle life of up to 15,000 cycles, translating to a calendar life exceeding 20 years, fully meeting the stringent reliability and cost‑effectiveness requirements of long-duration energy storage, heavy‑duty transportation, and other demanding applications.
