Tesla Battery Supplier, CATL, Unveils 3rd-Gen Shenxing LFP Battery: Charges in Under Four Minutes

Tesla Battery Supplier, CATL, Unveils 3rd-Gen Shenxing LFP Battery: Charges in Under Four Minutes

CATL, the worlds largest battery manufacturer, has introduced its 3rd-generation Shenxing Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery at its Super Tech Day 2026 event in Beijing. The new Shenxing architecture targets a step-change in electric vehicle charging speeds with the aim of making charging as quick as refueling, while maintaining long-term battery health.

Record-Breaking Charging Speeds

According to CATL, the new pack can charge from 10% to 35% in just one minute. A charge from 10% to 80% takes 3 minutes and 44 seconds, and reaching a 90% state of charge requires only 6.5 minutes.

These results represent a major leap for LFP chemistry, which has historically been chosen for its lower cost rather than peak performance.

Conquering the Cold

To address severe charging slowdowns in freezing conditions, CATL developed a self-heating pulse technology. By applying oscillating currents at specific frequencies, the battery quickly warms itself internally without depending on external heaters or specialized charging stations.

Even in extreme cold, down to -30 b0C (-20 b0F), CATL states the new Shenxing battery can recharge from 20% to 98% in as little as 9 minutes.

This approach is similar to the Supercharger ripple heating system that Tesla implemented early last year to rapidly warm up LFP batteries at any Supercharger site a0 but with much improved charging speeds.

Teslas Use of CATL Batteries

CATL supplies Tesla (among other manufacturers) with LFP batteries. Tesla uses these packs for its lower-performance models (Standard) built at Giga Shanghai, which are shipped to multiple regions, including Europe, the Asia-Pacific market, and sometimes Canada, among other countries.

Engineered for Longevity

Addressing concerns that ultra-fast charging can shorten battery life due to excessive heat, CATL Chief Technology Officer Gao Huan said the company designed Shenxing 3 to separate speed from degradation by targeting internal resistance and thermal management.

The battery features a world-record internal resistance of just 0.25 milliohms, roughly 50% lower than the industry average. Lower resistance reduces heat generation during a supercharging session. CATL also introduced a new Cell Shoulder Cooling Technology that directly targets the hottest areas of the cell, improving overall cooling efficiency by 20%.

With these hardware advances and precise temperature control, the new LFP battery is designed to retain over 90% of its original health after 1,000 ultra-fast charging cycles.

"We always deliver what we promise," Gao Huan told reporters at the Beijing event.

As automakers expand EV adoption, CATLs latest development indicates that affordable LFP batteries can now directly compete with, and in many ways surpass, the charging convenience of internal combustion engines.