Molicel has introduced a high-power cylindrical battery cell aimed at hybrid vehicles that need rapid bursts of energy as well as frequent regenerative-braking input.
The INR-21700-P70X was shown at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference Europe 2026 as the lead product in Molicel’s PX series.
The company claims a capacity of 7,000mAh, gravimetric energy density of 340Wh/kg and continuous discharge capability of 30C.
Those figures place the 21700-format cell between conventional energy-focused lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors, according to Molicel.
It is intended to provide useful energy storage while responding quickly to sudden power demands, such as acceleration, and to absorb short, heavy charging pulses during braking.
Molicel rates the P70X for a peak output of 900W lasting five seconds. It also claims the cell can switch to high-power output in less than 200 microseconds.
Hybrids place different demands on their batteries than most battery-electric vehicles.
Instead of relying mainly on long, deep discharge cycles, a hybrid pack repeatedly moves through smaller charge and discharge swings as the engine, electric motor and regenerative braking system share the work.
Molicel said its PX series retained 96% of its capacity after one million laboratory cycles. The test alternated between a +10C pulse for 10 seconds and a -2C pulse for 110 seconds, with an 83°C cut-off.
It demonstrates performance under a specific accelerated test regime, rather than guaranteeing the same result in a production vehicle.
The company also claims its single-crystal material technology cuts heat released during failure by almost half compared with conventional polycrystalline material. Molicel said cells subjected to abuse testing smoked rather than rupturing together, helping to slow thermal propagation.
It cited testing under UL 9540A, a method used to evaluate thermal-runaway and fire-propagation behaviour in battery energy-storage systems. UL 9540A is not, by itself, an automotive battery certification, so the result should be read as supporting safety data rather than proof of vehicle-level approval.
Molicel is the battery brand of E-One Moli Energy, headquartered in Taipei and part of Taiwan’s TCC Group. Its roots, however, are Canadian: Molicel traces its beginnings to a University of British Columbia physics laboratory in 1977.
The present Taiwanese company was established in 1998 and retains research operations in British Columbia. Its main corporate and manufacturing operations are now based in Taiwan.
