Why do we use CATL batteries

Element 82, with a commitment to importing and distributing the world's best brands selected a modular solution for its Lithium Iron Phosphate from CATL & UZ Energy, we consistently seek technologically advanced, cutting-edge, and innovative solutions. Our desire to integrate the world's best system integrators aligns seamlessly with CATL's position as a global leader in battery technology, reflecting our shared vision for excellence in the field of energy solutions.

url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource.benchmarkminerals Did you knowCATL Factory

CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited) is a prominent and innovative Chinese company with production facilities around the world at the forefront of battery technology. CATL batteries have gained recognition for their high-performance lithium-ion battery solutions, which power a wide range of applications, from electric vehicles to energy storage systems. These batteries are characterized by their cutting-edge technology, offering impressive energy density, extended cycle life, and fast charging capabilities. CATL has played a pivotal role in driving the adoption of electric vehicles by supplying major automakers with reliable and efficient battery packs.

Tesla chooses CATL cells

CATL batteries have firmly established themselves as a dominant force in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, finding their way into more than 30% of all EVs on the road today. Renowned EV manufacturers like Tesla are among their prominent clients, further solidifying CATL's reputation for delivering cutting-edge energy storage solutions. This is why we chose to use CATL-based battery technology when we finalized our lithium platform batteries for our off-grid and on-grid battery systems. The decision to incorporate CATL's innovation into our products has been exceptionally successful. Working with a Chinese integrator we've tapped into their purchasing power and volume, UZ Energy's BMS integration, and their engineers who have ensured an end-to-end solution with easy integration into systems like Deye and Victron Energy. So much so, that even our Solplanet string inverter engineers selected UZ Energy as their OEM supplier, a testament to the exceptional performance and reliability of CATL-powered batteries in both off-grid and on-grid applications, ensuring that our energy solutions remain at the forefront of industry innovation and consistent throughout our product range. With systems from 5.1kW up to 160kW in extra low voltage (sub 60VDC) and 16 Master / Slave configurations, we can meet your hybrid on or off-grid power requirements.

See our integrated batteries from CATL and UZ Energy

Depth Of Discharge

Depth of Discharge or D.O.D is a measurement of how much energy you take from a battery. but another analogy might be if the ground has 1 metre deep of topsoil on it and you dig 80% out of that you are at 80% depth of discharge.

The inverse you could also say you only have 20% state of charge remaining.

State Of Charge SOC

SOC – State of Charge. i.e. Just like a fuel gauge, it shows the amount of energy left in the batteries.

A 12V battery is not 12 volts

A 12V battery is actually closer to 13 volts. 12V is used as its nominal voltage. Ie. 12v for one battery in a circuit and 24 volts for 2 batteries in a circuit.

A 12 volt battery is actually 6 lots of 2 volt cells in series. Depending on the type of lead acid battery the individual cells can vary in voltages from 2.08 up to 2.16 volts each cell. Using that maths 2.16 x 6 means your 12 volt battery is actually 13 volts like an Optima Battery or at 12.84 volts an Odyssey, both these brands are AGM batteries and they have a higher voltage than wet cell batteries which might only be 12.5 volts in total.

Lithium Ion vs. LFP

Lithium Ion defines a battery class of which LiMnCo or LiFePO4 belong to and many other combinations. LFP is short for Lithium Ferrous Phosphate and is the nice english language description for the scientific elemental compound LiFePO4 which means Li = Lithium, Fe = Ferrous, PO4 = Phosphate which is commonly misinterpreted in English as Lithium Ion Phosphate but in fact, means Lithium Iron Phosphate.

Amp Hour Calculations

If you have a 100Ah battery at the C20 rate and only use 20Ah per day you could say you have 5 days with no charge until 100% discharged at 10.5V. This is also referred to as 5 days of autonomy. You have actually discharged this battery slowly over 5 days which is 120 hours, so the actual power available might of been 120Ah at the C120 rate. So in theory your battery might still have a little bit of energy left in it until it reaches 10.5V.

Not to say you should keep discharging to 10.5V as that's a very deep cycle to 100% Depth of Discharge.

Amp Hour Ratings

Amp-hour capacity ratings – different industries use different rates depending on their applications.

For instance, Solar or Renewable Energy can use Capacity over 24 hours (C24) for a daily average. But can also use C48 or C72, commonly they use C100 or C120 to get a better more consistent average. The larger the hours rating the more focused to rating becomes. Weekdays often differ from weekends and 5 days average will give at least some allowances for both if your first day of measure is Wednesday and ending on Sunday therefore as in this example the C120 is a valuable tool.

If you have a battery rated at C20 & C10, you can calculate its C120 rate or any other rate for that matter.

Construction of cable

A double insulated cable is typically noticeable because when manufactured it will use material of two different colours. The wire will be surrounded by say in this example a red layer. They have a different colour over that like white so you can easily distinguish the inner protective layer for the one you'd see on the outside before cutting the cable open.

Many materials are made of two different types of plastics or rubber. Some so they are easily recognised, others easily read as the wire or cables will have been printed with information about its rating, use and sometimes even metre marks so you see the distance/length of cable each metre you pass over.

Some power cables have a softer exterior sheath which also has a lower melting point. This comes in very handy if your power system has been short-circuited but the consumption is less than your circuit breakers values. Over time the cable will heat up and if lucky/unlucky you'll notice the cable starting to smoulder or smell like it's burning. It's a clear sign something is not right, but if you're lucky the inner insulated layer will have a high melt point and it's still isolated protecting from catastrophic failure.

Sometimes the outer sheathing has a silicone based material so it slides easily against other rubbers. This type of material is commonly used where multiple cables need to be pulled through buildings during construction or in network cabinets where you might have hundreds of cables all in a small area.