With the advantages of high energy density, high safety and low cost, large cylindrical batteries have become one of the important directions for power battery companies to tackle tough problems. The large cylindrical battery, which is highly sought after by OEMs and battery companies, is a large cylindrical battery with a diameter of 46mm and a height of 80mm-120mm, which was first announced by Tesla on its 2020 Battery Day. Tesla has achieved the optimal solution for the safety and performance of cylindrical batteries by making larger cells, electrodeless ear design, silicon anode materials, dry electrode manufacturing processes and other materials, technological innovations and process changes. On the application side, passenger car companies such as Tesla, Porsche, Jianghuai, and Dongfeng Lantu have successively released clear application signals for large cylindrical batteries. On the supply side, battery companies such as LG, Panasonic, BAK, Lishen, EVE, and Honeycomb Energy are actively following up on large cylindrical batteries including 4680. Technology breakthroughs in all-pole ear technology, parallel ternary / iron-lithium technology and other technologies are mature, and the advantages of large cylinders in performance, cost and safety are becoming more and more obvious. With the help of domestic and foreign battery companies and supply chain links, the large cylindrical battery has ushered in the critical point of industrialization, and it is expected to start mass production in 2023.
The batteries of the 4680 series have outstanding safety and economy, are not deformed during use, and have an extremely reliable standard system.
Based on the perception of battery safety and economy, large cylindrical batteries will become the main power battery form for mid-to-high-end new energy vehicles. The advantages of large cylinders are reflected in extreme standards, extreme reliability, extreme manufacturing and extreme systems. For example, in terms of reliability, the expansion resistance of the cylinder hardly changes in the radial direction, and the structure is stable and stress-free throughout the life cycle.
Judging from the demand pyramid of high safety, cost-effective, long battery life, long life, and fast charging of power batteries, large cylindrical batteries are the optimal solution for mid-to-high-end electric vehicles in the next 5-10 years. According to high-tech lithium battery data, by 2025, large cylindrical cells are expected to account for more than 30% of the share, which is about 480GWh, which has exceeded the total global demand for power batteries in 2021. In terms of domestic enterprises, Yiwei Lithium Energy has deployed two models of 4680 and 4695, and has planned a 200GWh large cylindrical and square battery production capacity. It is expected to be completed in 2022. Its large cylindrical material has reached the extreme level of nickel series 9; The height of the 46 series of large cylindrical batteries ranges from 80-120mm, and the energy density reaches 275-300Wh/kg. It is planned to be mass-produced in small batches in the second half of 2022, and mass-produced in 2023. It is expected that the production capacity will be expanded to 80GWh in the next few years.
Foreign battery factories have also deployed large cylindrical battery capacity. Tesla has planned to produce its own 4680 batteries in four super factories in California, Texas, Nevada, and Berlin, Germany. According to Tesla's announcement, the annual output of its 4680 battery will reach 100GWh in 2022 and 3TWh in 2030. As the main supplier of Tesla's cylindrical batteries, Panasonic is also a fan of large cylindrical batteries, and plans to produce small batteries in 2022. Mass production of 4680 large cylindrical batteries will start mass production in 2023, with an annual production capacity of 10GWh, which can meet the battery needs of about 150,000 vehicles. LG plans to expand the production capacity of 4680 batteries at the Wuchang plant in South Korea, and plans to mass production in 2022-2023; Samsung SDI plans to achieve mass production in 2024, and Israeli company Storedot announced the production of the first 4680 battery in September 2021. mass production.
