The renewed Zeekr 001 debuts CATL's ultra-fast charging Shenxing batteries

Although at first glance nothing seems to have changed in the renewed Zeekr 001, appearances are deceptive. Engineers at the Chinese manufacturer have worked hard to deliver most of the improvements this model includes inside, updating some of its components. The new flagship of Zeekr has seen its driver assistance system improved thanks to the integration of a new LiDAR sensor on the roof of the vehicle, and has upgraded its architecture to an 800V system.

What has caught our attention most, however, is the increase in charging power supported thanks to a new battery pack from supplier CATL called Shenxing.

With 95 kWh of capacity, this new battery pack, which surprisingly for a high-end vehicle uses LFP cells, is set to take the charging experience of its fortunate owners to a new level. According to the company, in tests carried out by its engineers the Shenxing battery pack supplied by CATL reached a maximum charging power of 546.4 kW, using for this a charging point from Zeekr itself capable of delivering up to 600 kW.

Reaching a peak power like this, if it only happens for a few moments, is nevertheless somewhat anecdotal. But this has not been the case with the renewed Zeekr 001. The charging curve recorded in these tests shows how the Shenxing battery from CATL is able to sustain a power above 540 kW between 10 and 35 percent state of charge. From there, as expected, the power supported slowly drops but stays above 250 kW. Which is certainly not bad at all.

Recharging requires an ever-decreasing amount of time

Zeekr claims that, this way, in just 5 minutes of charging it is possible to increase the vehicle’s range by 264 km. Though it should be kept in mind that this figure has been calculated under the CLTC homologation cycle that applies in the Chinese market, and that, as we have already commented on many other occasions here at HighMotor, it tends to be excessively optimistic.

The company explains, moreover, that the full process carried out allowed the charge percentage to be increased from 10 to 80 percent in a record time of just 11 minutes and 28 seconds. This meant an increase in the vehicle’s range of almost 500 km -473 to be exact-.

According to CATL, for this to be possible its new and revolutionary Shenxing batteries integrate a new temperature control technology, thanks to which it is possible to maintain high charging powers even in extremely unfavourable weather conditions with sub-zero temperatures.