Jiwei JWrada® PRO Radar Level Transmitter Successfully Applied in CATL New Energy Battery Project
Higher Requirements for High-Precision Level Measurement in the New Energy Lithium Battery Industry
With the rapid growth of the global new energy vehicle industry, lithium battery manufacturing is continuously evolving toward intelligent automation, digitalization, and high-precision production. As a critical part of the new energy industrial chain, lithium battery production involves the storage and transfer of large quantities of electrolytes, solvents, additives, and chemical raw materials, placing extremely high demands on the stability, accuracy, and anti-interference capability of level measurement instruments.
Recently, the JWrada® PRO Series 80GHz radar level transmitters developed by Shenzhen Jiwei Automations Ltd were successfully applied in a CATL-related new energy battery production project for continuous level measurement of electrolyte tanks, solvent tanks, and chemical raw material storage tanks.
The project site featured highly complex operating conditions, including vapor, agitation, electromagnetic interference, and limited installation space. Thanks to its stable measurement performance, convenient Bluetooth commissioning system, and excellent anti-interference capability, the JWrada® PRO radar level transmitter received high recognition from the on-site engineering team.
What New Requirements Does Lithium Battery Production Place on Level Instruments?
In modern lithium battery manufacturing, level measurement systems are no longer limited to simple tank level indication. Instead, they directly affect production line stability, operational safety, and product consistency.
Particularly during the storage and transportation of electrolytes, solvents, NMP, organic additives, and various chemical materials, accurate level data directly impacts raw material ratio control, automated dosing systems, and overall production safety management.
As the new energy industry rapidly advances toward high-end intelligent manufacturing, battery factories are placing increasingly stringent requirements on level measurement equipment. Compared with traditional chemical industries, lithium battery production environments usually involve more complicated working conditions, including strong electromagnetic interference, dense automation equipment, highly volatile chemical media, continuous agitation processes, and large-scale automated control systems.
These factors create significant challenges for the long-term stable operation of level instruments.
In this CATL new energy project, the engineering team imposed extremely strict requirements on the level measurement system, demanding not only high accuracy, high stability, and strong anti-interference performance, but also rapid deployment, convenient commissioning, and future smart factory upgrade compatibility.
After analyzing the site conditions, the project mainly faced the following technical challenges.
1. Complex Agitation Structures Inside Tanks Generate Severe False Echoes
During lithium battery production, large quantities of electrolytes and chemical materials must be continuously agitated inside tanks to maintain media uniformity, prevent sedimentation, and improve chemical reaction stability.
As a result, many storage tanks are equipped with mechanical agitators, stirring shafts, support beams, and metallic internal structures.
For level measurement instruments, these internal structures easily generate complex false echoes. Especially for traditional low-frequency radar level transmitters with wide beam angles, radar signals can strike agitator blades, tank supports, or metallic structures, resulting in incorrect reflected signals.
Meanwhile, rapid agitator operation creates liquid surface turbulence and disturbances, making echo signals even more complicated.
Under such conditions, traditional level instruments may experience:
- Level fluctuations
- False echo misidentification
- Measurement drift
- Unstable outputs
- Frequent false alarms
In automated dosing systems, unstable level data may directly affect raw material ratio precision and ultimately impact battery product consistency.
Therefore, the customer required radar level transmitters with excellent echo recognition capability and powerful anti-interference performance, capable of accurately distinguishing real liquid surfaces from false echoes while maintaining stable continuous measurement under agitation conditions.
2. Complex Vapor and Condensation Environments Cause Signal Loss in Traditional Instruments
The lithium battery industry involves large quantities of volatile chemical media, including electrolyte solvents, organic additives, and corrosive liquids.
During storage and production processes, tanks are often filled with vapor, volatile gases, and condensation.
Especially under large temperature differences, condensation easily forms on the top of tanks, severely affecting the stability of traditional level measurement technologies.
For example:
- Ultrasonic level transmitters are easily affected by vapor, causing sound wave attenuation
- Condensation environments distort echo signals
- Volatile gases may cause signal loss
- Some low-frequency radars experience weakened echoes in heavy vapor environments
The customer had previously experienced signal loss alarms, unstable level readings, and delayed measurements when using traditional level instruments in high-vapor environments.
Because new energy battery factories typically operate continuously 24 hours a day, any abnormal level signal may affect production efficiency and even create safety risks.
Therefore, the customer required a level measurement solution capable of maintaining long-term stable operation under vapor, condensation, and volatile chemical conditions while providing strong signal penetration capability.
3. Limited Installation Space Requires Extremely Narrow Radar Beam Angles
As new energy factories become increasingly automated, production line layouts are becoming more compact.
To maximize space utilization, many tanks provide only limited installation space on the top.
In this project, some tanks featured small mounting nozzles surrounded by pipelines, valves, breather vents, cable trays, and automation equipment.
This required the radar level transmitter to have an extremely narrow beam angle to prevent radar waves from striking nearby obstacles and generating interference echoes.
Large beam angles may lead to:
- Cluttered echoes
- Unstable measurement
- False level readings
- Installation limitations
Additionally, some tanks in the new energy industry adopt tall and narrow structures, demanding stronger signal focusing capability.
Therefore, the customer paid particular attention to the radar transmitter’s high-frequency performance, beam focusing capability, and adaptability to complex installation environments.
4. Complex Electromagnetic Environments Demand Strong Anti-Interference Capability
Lithium battery production workshops are typically equipped with large amounts of automation equipment, including variable-frequency drives, high-power motors, PLC control systems, automated conveying systems, and DCS systems.
These devices generate highly complex electromagnetic environments during operation, placing high demands on instrument stability.
If level instruments lack sufficient anti-interference capability, electromagnetic noise may cause output fluctuations, communication abnormalities, data drift, and false alarms.
In highly automated new energy factories, abnormal level data may directly affect automatic refilling systems, raw material conveying, and production control logic.
Therefore, the customer required the radar level transmitter not only to provide stable and accurate measurements, but also to maintain long-term reliable communication with PLC, DCS, and SCADA systems.
During project evaluation, the customer focused heavily on EMC performance, long-term operational stability, and practical industrial application experience.
The Jiwei JWrada® PRO Series 80GHz radar level transmitter adopts industrial-grade anti-interference design, enabling stable output and reliable communication even under complex electromagnetic environments.
5. Tight Project Schedules Require Rapid Commissioning and Batch Deployment
New energy projects are usually constructed under very tight schedules, especially large lithium battery factories that must complete installation, commissioning, and production startup within extremely short periods.
This project involved multiple level instruments, and the engineering team hoped to minimize commissioning time and improve delivery efficiency.
Traditional commissioning methods typically require:
- Climbing onto tanks
- Opening instrument covers
- Manually entering parameters
- Multi-person cooperation
- Repeated echo curve checks
For large-scale installations, this approach is inefficient and involves safety risks.
Therefore, the customer highly valued features such as wireless commissioning, parameter batch copying, remote diagnostics, simplified operation procedures, and reduced high-altitude manual work.
The project owner also expected future maintenance to become more digitalized and intelligent to support smart factory upgrades.
Why Did the Customer Choose Jiwei JWrada® PRO Radar Level Transmitters?
After technical comparisons among multiple brands, the customer finally selected the Jiwei JWrada® PRO Series 80GHz radar level transmitter solution.
80GHz High-Frequency Radar Technology for More Accurate Measurement
The JWrada® PRO Series adopts advanced 80GHz radar technology featuring concentrated microwave energy and narrower beam angles compared with traditional 26GHz radar.
Even under narrow nozzles, complex internal structures, or agitation conditions, the transmitter can still accurately lock onto the liquid surface echo.
In this new energy project, the JWrada® PRO achieved stable continuous measurement with accuracy up to ±1 mm.
Intelligent Echo Processing Technology Handles Complex Conditions
The JWrada® PRO Series features advanced intelligent echo processing algorithms capable of:
- Automatic false echo learning
- Multi-layer echo separation
- Dynamic target tracking
- Interference signal filtering
Even under agitation, vapor, foam, and complicated tank structures, the transmitter maintains stable level measurement.
Site engineers reported that the level trend remained stable without obvious fluctuations, significantly outperforming previously used traditional instruments.
Bluetooth Wireless Commissioning Greatly Improves Project Efficiency
The customer particularly appreciated the Bluetooth wireless commissioning function of the JWrada® PRO Series.
The instrument integrates a Bluetooth 5.0 module and supports wireless commissioning through the “Jiwei Smart Control” WeChat Mini Program and JW Tools APP.
Engineers can complete:
- Parameter configuration
- Echo curve viewing
- Range setting
- Fault diagnosis
- Parameter copying
- Software upgrades
without opening the instrument cover.
On-site commissioning time for each instrument was reduced to approximately 2 minutes, significantly shortening the overall project delivery cycle.
Strong Anti-Interference Capability for Complex New Energy Environments
Lithium battery production workshops contain large numbers of motors, automation systems, variable-frequency drives, and dense metal pipelines, creating highly complicated electromagnetic environments.
The JWrada® PRO Series adopts a high-stability hardware platform and advanced anti-interference design with excellent EMC performance.
Even during long-term continuous operation, the transmitter maintains stable measurement and reliable communication, providing dependable level data for PLC, DCS, and SCADA systems.
Multiple Process Connection Options for Different Tank Applications
For different tank structures in the new energy industry, Jiwei provides:
- Threaded connections
- Flange connections
- Hygienic connections
- Customized process connections
The products also support:
- PTFE anti-corrosion antennas
- High-temperature designs
- Explosion-proof certifications
- Intrinsically safe and flameproof solutions
These features enable the instruments to meet the requirements of new energy, chemical, energy storage, and fine chemical industries.
Chinese High-End Radar Level Instruments Are Rapidly Replacing Imported Brands
For many years, the high-end level measurement market in the new energy industry was dominated by European brands.
With the rapid development of Chinese industrial automation technology, more and more large new energy enterprises are choosing high-performance Chinese instruments.
As one of China’s leading high-end radar level measurement brands, Jiwei Automations continues to increase R&D investment and has obtained multiple core patented technologies.
JWrada® Series products have been widely applied in:
- New energy lithium battery
- Chemical industries
- Water treatment
- Oil storage and transportation
- Marine applications
- Power generation
- Food and pharmaceutical industries
and have successfully served major industrial projects including CATL.
Jiwei Automations Continues Supporting Smart Manufacturing in the New Energy Industry
As the new energy industry continues expanding rapidly, stable and reliable level measurement technology is becoming an essential part of smart factories.
In the future, Jiwei Automations will continue focusing on:
- High-precision measurement
- Intelligent wireless commissioning
- Industrial digitalization
- Remote maintenance
- High-reliability instruments
to provide higher-performance level and point level measurement solutions for the global industrial automation market.
About Shenzhen Jiwei Automations Ltd
Shenzhen Jiwei Automations Ltd is one of China’s leading manufacturers of level and point level measurement instruments, specializing in radar level transmitters, radar level sensors, ultrasonic level transmitters, vibrating rod level switches, and vibrating fork level switches.
The company owns a complete independent R&D system and multiple national patented technologies. Its products are widely applied in new energy, chemical, water treatment, petroleum, power, metallurgy, and environmental protection industries.
With high performance, excellent stability, and intelligent commissioning systems, the JWrada® Series 80GHz radar level transmitters are becoming an increasingly important choice for global industrial projects.