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01 / 05
World’s First LFP Battery with 470+ Miles Range and 10-Minute Charging

Electrek | Motor Vehicles

World’s First LFP Battery with 470+ Miles Range and 10-Minute Charging

“At the Munich Motor Show, the global leader in electric vehicle batteries made its presence known. CATL introduced its new Shenxing Pro, deeming it ‘the world’s first LFP battery to deliver a 758 km WLTP range.’

The extended driving range is only a piece of it, however. CATL’s new battery is safer and features a record-breaking 12-year, 1,000,000 km lifespan, all while promising to lower costs.

It’s also now the fastest-charging battery in Europe, with 12C peak charging speeds. In just 10 minutes, the new battery can add nearly 300 miles (478 km) WLTP range.

Even in frigid temperatures of –20°C (–4°F), CATL said its new battery can add over 250 miles (410 km) of driving range. When the battery is at a 20% state of charge (SOC), the Shenxing battery will deliver up to 830 kW, good for a 0 to 100 km/h sprint in just 2.5 secs.”

From Electrek.

Bloomberg | Space

Space Startup Beams More Laser Energy to Panels than Ever Before

“Aerospace startup Star Catcher Industries Inc., which is developing technology to beam solar power to orbiting satellites, said it wirelessly transmitted more electricity in a ground test than ever before, marking another step toward creating the equivalent of a space grid.

Using a suite of lasers, the company successfully sent energy to off-the-shelf solar panels positioned more than 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) away. The tests took place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida last month.

The 1.1 kilowatt of converted electricity delivered at once exceeded the previous record set by the US government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa. During Star Catcher’s multiday campaign, it beamed more than 10 megajoules of energy, according to the company.”

From Bloomberg.

Reuters | Motor Vehicles

pony.ai Granted Citywide Driverless Robotaxi Permit in Shenzhen

“Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai has been granted the first citywide permit for driverless commercial robotaxi operations in the city of Shenzhen in southern China, it said on Friday.

The permit was jointly granted to Pony.ai and the city’s largest taxi operator Xihu Group, the company said in a statement.”

From Reuters.

NASASpaceflight | Space

Vast Completes Haven-1 Structural Testing, Launches Mission

“Vast is a space station company founded in 2021 by Jed McCaleb. It launched its pathfinder, Haven Demo, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 Bandwagon-4 mission on Sunday, Nov. 02, at 01:09 AM EDT (05:09 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Vast’s first station, Haven-1, is due to launch NET May 2026, also aboard a Falcon 9.

Haven-1 isn’t just any payload; it aims to help Vast beat other contenders for NASA Commercial LEO Destinations Phase 2 (CLD) funding. These companies include Axiom Space (Axiom Station) and Voyager Space/Airbus (Starlab), among others…

Vast’s Haven Demo will test out key capabilities, such as Reaction Control Systems (RCS), power systems, and propulsion, in preparation for Haven-1.”

From NASASpaceflight.