· CATL laboratory kicks off initiative to achieve UL Solutions Witness Test Data Program status for UL 9540A, allowing the company to offer comprehensive battery energy storage system testing. 

· The new collaboration sets the stage to help create safer, widespread deployment of key renewable, zero-emission energy sources.

On January 17, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), a global leader of new energy innovative technologies, and UL Solutions, a global leader in applied safety science, announced an MOU for strategic cooperation to help create safer deployment and use of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and electric vehicle (EV) batteries. 

As the key part of the agreement, CATL's battery laboratory will kick off the process to achieve UL Solutions witness test data program (WTDP) status to test to UL 9540A, the Standard for Test Method for Evaluating Thermal Runaway Fire Propagation in Battery Energy Storage Systems. Once achieving WTDP designation by UL Solutions, CATL will be entitled to conduct WTDP tests at its test facilities under the supervision of UL Solutions personnel, thus improving the efficiency and shorten time to market for battery products certification and testing. 

As the first company in China to launch the UL Solutions WTDP initiative for UL 9540A, CATL boasts diversified testing and verification capabilities, and has already been qualified by UL Solutions through the WTDP designation, to test to UL1973, the Standard for Batteries for Use in Stationary and Motive Auxiliary Power Applications, UL 9540, the Standard for Energy Storage Systems and Equipment and UL 2580, the Standard for Batteries for Use in Electric Vehicles. 

EnerOne, CATL's flagship outdoor liquid cooling battery system, and EnerC, CATL's containerized liquid-cooling battery system, have received the latest version of UL 9540A test report, making CATL the first company in China to receive test report of such kind in cell, module, unit and installation level by UL Solutions. 

Both parties will also leverage their expertise to carry out in-depth cooperation in further exploring lithium-ion battery safety and offer insight towards developing BESS and EV battery standards. The two companies will also collaborate to explore carbon footprint reduction and other sustainability efforts. 

"Battery storage technologies are essential to speeding up the transition from fossil fuels with renewable energy and will play an increasingly pivotal role to help combat climate change and carbon emissions," said Weifang Zhou, executive vice president and president of the Testing, Inspection and Certification at UL Solutions. "We are excited about our collaboration with CATL and how we are joining together to advance battery energy story systems and EV batteries applications as well as their safety and performance potential.” 

"By cooperating with UL Solutions, we look forward to improving the scientificity and integrality of energy storage system safety testing, thus further enhancing our comprehensive testing and validation capabilities for energy storage systems," said LiBin Tan, vice president of CATL. "We will further leverage our state-of-the-art battery technologies to facilitate the safe deployment and use of energy storage systems, thus speeding the global energy transition and creating a healthier, promising future for all."