Apple partnering with Chinese battery manufacturer Amperex Technology Limited: report
24 Jul 2017
Apple is partnering with Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), Chinese website Yicai Global reported.
CATL founded in 2011, is a spin-off from Amperex Technology Limited, and among the largest suppliers of iPhone batteries, and the leader in the development of lithium-ion batteries.
It is also the third largest manufacturer of batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles.
The company plans to increase production to 50 gigawatt hours by the year 2020, which would place it directly behind Tesla in second place.
Also CATL wants to cut battery costs and raise its energy density and charging speed. The Chinese, had last year, presented a quick-charging solution, which could charge a car battery to 90 per cent in only 15 minutes using lithium-ion technology.
However, Apple and CATL were silent on what Apple's role would be in the partnership.
According to commentators, it is certain at the moment that Apple had a strong interest in autonomous vehicle technologies and called it ''the mother of all AI projects''.
The vehicle technology was therefore ''a core technology, which Apple considered as very important,'' Apple CEO Tim Cook told Bloomberg.
