Recently, Mercedes-AMG announced its 24-hour endurance race achievement—covering 5,479km. Whilst breaking multiple world records, the concept car’s power battery also drew significant attention.

Mercedes officially describes this battery as a “high-performance battery derived from Formula 1 technology, delivering robust and sustained output via a novel quadruple-element battery.” The system represents some developments in cathode chemistry; however, the most notable advancement is the cooling system, which allowed for the record-breaking performance.

Based on limited publicly available information, the AMG GT XX power battery can be summarised as a cylindrical nickel cobalt manganese aluminium (NCMA) cell utilising cell-to-module (CTM) technology and an immersion cooling system.

This battery could be understood to be a hybrid of NCM and NCA technologies, combining the advantages of both chemistries. Incorporating a certain proportion of aluminium improves the crystal structure of the ternary cathode, enhances side-reaction suppression under extreme conditions, and reduces thermal runaway risks.

Although Mercedes adopted a cylindrical cell design that is popular among international manufacturers, it opted for medium-sized 27xx or 30xx series cells rather than the 46xx large-format cylinders—likely owing to thermal management considerations. The modular design also improves battery repairability, albeit at the cost of some pack-level energy density.

The most critical innovation is the so-called intelligent direct-cooling system, which submerges each cell in an insulating, high-thermal-conductivity coolant. This design enables individual thermal exchange for every cell, drastically improving heat transfer efficiency. This is the key reason behind why the AMG.EA could maintain an average speed of 300km/h for extended periods.

Additionally, immersion cooling facilitates “no propagation” (NP) capability—effectively preventing thermal runaway propagation. Since each cell is immersed in coolant, any thermal event triggers immediate heat dissipation. Each small module in the system acts as an independent fire containment unit, significantly enhancing safety.

Despite the usual challenges of achievements such as cost and manufacturing complexity, the AMG GT XX has achieved notable breakthroughs in performance parameters, structural design, and material innovation. This is likely a continuation of Mercedes’ “trickle-down innovation” strategy, wherein new technology and features are first introduced in higher segment models before being scaled down and incorporated into more affordable models, supporting the brand’s transition into the battery electric vehicle era.