CATL Becomes First to Clear China’s Tough Battery Safety Standard

CATL has become the first company to meet China’s new national battery safety standard announced on March 28, 2025 - GB 38031-2025 - which demands that batteries must not catch fire or explode, even after a thermal runaway incident has occurred.

The official enforcement date for these new safety standards which brings significant changes, especially in regards to thermal diffusion requirements is on July 1, 2026.

Moving forward, batteries must be able to prevent combustion and protect passengers from harmful smoke, unlike the previous standard which only required warning alerts before a potential fire or explosion.

To comply, batteries produced must pass tougher tests which include bottom impact testing and 300 fast-charging cycles endurance test of which there must be no incidents of fire or explosion during short-circuit tests.

CATL confirmed on April 29 that its Qilin battery in both battery cells and packs configuration had passed these new tests. The Qilin battery, introduced in 2022, is the company’s third-generation cell-to-pack (CTP) battery featuring a space efficiency of 72% and energy density of up to 255 Wh/kg. It also offers a reinforced structure for better resistance to thermal runaway.

CATL’s test results were certified by China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC), a leading third-party agency in China responsible for product testing and C-NCAP vehicle safety assessments.

Moving forward, CATL also announced that it will keep pushing battery safety forward through ongoing innovation - emphasising on heat diffusion control, crash protection and fast-charging durability.

Clearing the new national standard more than a year in advance further cements CATL’s position as the market leader in the battery technology space. Batteries produced by CATL currently powers over 18 million vehicles globally from brands such as Zeekr, Xiaomi, Li Auto, Avatr, Lotus and Tesla.

Source: CarNewsChina