CATL's New Electric Truck Battery Is Coming For Diesel's Biggest AdvantageInsideEVs[email protected] (Rob Stumpf)Tue, September 15, 2026 at 7:13 PM UTCAdd us on GoogleCATL Tectrans IIThe new battery supplies up to 620 miles of range and can withstand more than 900,000 miles of abuse.CATL has a new battery system aimed directly at the emerging electric semi market.Its new modular architecture cuts down on weight and is capable of megawatt charging speeds.It can recoup up to 80% of its charge in just 25 minutes, CATL says.Regular car buyers might care about how cool a vehicle's panoramic glass roof looks or how good its audio system sounds. But the folks buying commercial vehicles are laser focused on a few basics: how much crap it can haul, how long it can stay on the road with minimal downtime, and how much it costs to run. As electric trucks get cheaper and more advanced, the answer for an increasing number of commercial customers is an EV. Manufacturers are taking note and beefing up their offerings.On Monday at the IAA Transportation expo in Germany, Chinese battery giant CATL unveiled Tectrans II, the newest iteration of the company's modular battery architecture aimed at medium and heavy-duty commercial trucks and buses. Also at the show, Tesla unveiled the European version of the Semi, and BYD announced plans to bring an electric semi to the continent along with the charging infrastructure to power it.CATL Tectrans II InlineIn its largest configuration for heavy-duty trucks, CATL says that it can deliver up to 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) of range in a single charge. And when that range is depleted, it can recharge up to 80% in just 25 minutes using a megawatt charger.AdvertisementAdvertisementA passenger EV sitting at a charger for 40 minutes is annoying (it's why BYD and the like have worked so hard at making Flash Charging the future). A commercial truck doing the same thing is just bleeding cash since it isn't on the road moving cargo. Getting the majority of the battery's charge back during something that resembles a typical leg-stretching rest stop for a trucker means more time on the move.CATL is also tackling weight as part of its new modular battery system. Tectrans II has a claimed energy density of 170 Wh/kg, which is about 13% higher than the average commercial EV battery system. It estimates that this translates into about 1,325 pounds (0.6 tonnes) of extra payload using the same battery capacity.Longevity is also a focal point. The company says that the battery is engineered to retain 70% of its capacity for at least 12 years and a whopping 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers). It's also built to be durable thanks with an armored, crush-resistant case, and resilient to hardware failures thanks to redundant battery management systems.Electric semis have been pitched as the next big thing for the trucking industry over the last decade as consumer EVs gained popularity. Battery systems, cost, and charging infrastructure have always been big challenges. But the industry seems to be entering a new era, especially as the Tesla Semi finally rolls out to customers and China pushes sales through subsidies. In China last year, nearly 30% of heavy-duty truck sales were electric, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation.AdvertisementAdvertisementCATL's solution tackles the big three that fleet operators actually care about: payload, downtime, and lifespan. And if its new Tectrans system can translate all of those things into net positive revenue, it's a no-brainer for companies looking to refresh their fleets in the future.More Electric Semi NewsBYD Takes On The Tesla Semi With Its Own 372-Mile TruckTesla Semi Is Heading To Europe With One Big Advantage—And One Major WeaknessThe Tesla Semi Is Finally Going Into Mass ProductionDon't Call It A Tesla Semi: China's Windrose Delivers First EV Truck In The U.S.
+10 others
