The iteration of the power battery technology route is still moving forward, but various battery companies have already made different judgments on battery materials, technologies, and even packaging forms. A recent industry event included CATL, BYD, Panasonic, eve. , Guoxuan Hi-Tech, BAK Battery, Xinwangda, Manly battery.
01
Generally optimistic! Lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4 battery) will still be the mainstream battery material for economical car companies
According to data from the Power Battery Application Branch, the installed capacity of power batteries in the Chinese market in 2021 will be about 159.6GWh, of which lithium iron phosphate batteries (lifepo4 battery installed capacity of 81.7GWh, accounting for 51.2%; ternary battery installed capacity of 77.6GWh, accounting for 48.6%. Phosphate battery installed capacity is 77.6GWh. The installed capacity of iron-lithium (lifepo4 battery) has completely reversed the ternary battery and occupies the mainstream.
Based on the advantages of lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4 battery), which is rich in material sources, low cost, high safety, and good cycle performance, companies including CATL, BYD, Manly battery, EVE, Guoxuan Hi-Tech, Honeycomb Energy, BAK Battery and other companies almost unanimously believe that this The mainstream status of a technology future cannot be shaken.
BYD even believes that "adhering to lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4 battery) is the correct development path." BYD bluntly stated that safety is the cornerstone of the development of new energy vehicles, and cost is an important indicator that must be faced. When performance has passed a certain threshold , the importance of energy density is decreasing.
According to Battery China, the current energy density of BYD's lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4 battery) blade battery system has increased from 140Wh/kg in 2020 to 150Wh/kg. The improvement of system energy density and group efficiency has once again made the same battery pack charged. Increase, can achieve longer cruising range.
Guoxuan Hi-Tech believes that "in the future, the proportion of iron-lithium and ternary battery production will gradually evolve to 6:4". According to him, Guoxuan Hi-Tech's lithium iron phosphate battery with a single energy density of 210Wh/kg has been mass-produced, and a 230Wh/kg lithium iron phosphate battery will be mass-produced by the end of this year. It will replace the ternary battery in a wider range."
EVE said that the lithium iron phosphate battery has a stable structure and good weather resistance, and if a flat electrode is used, the battery has a more balanced response and a very good life. It can achieve 4,000 or even 8,000 cycles. It is a popular Models and long-term use provide cheap and high-quality batteries. "Square laminated lithium iron phosphate will be the mainstream technical route for economical models."
Fan Wenguang, vice president of BAK Battery, holds the same view. Fan Wenguang believes that square lithium iron phosphate batteries will be the mainstream material and technical route for economical vehicles.
In addition, Honeycomb Energy has also deployed standardized "short knife" iron-lithium batteries, relying on economy, compatibility, high energy density and high safety to focus on the economical vehicle market.
02
"Large cylindrical battery" may become one of the important forms of mid-to-high-end models
Tesla proposed 4680 large cylindrical batteries on "Battery Day". In just two years, the advantages of large cylindrical batteries such as safety, manufacturing efficiency, cost, and performance have been gradually verified.
Yuki Nanami, president of Panasonic, said recently that 4680 batteries will become the mainstream of cylindrical batteries in the future, "4680 batteries are a 'double innovation' in battery structure and material: using large cylindrical structural parts, the capacity is 5 times higher than that of 2170 batteries. ."
In the past, Yiwei Lithium Energy adhered to the strategy of diversified technical routes in the field of power batteries, with square, soft pack, and cylinder layouts, and materials also covered ternary and lithium iron phosphate. However, recently, Liu Jincheng's statement that "cylindrical batteries have become a hot spot in industry research and vaguely become the ultimate technical direction of power batteries" seems to indirectly confirm the main technical direction of Yiwei Lithium Energy in the power field.
Large cylindrical batteries have absolute safety and cost advantages, which are mainly reflected in the following four dimensions: one is the ultimate standard, which can be standardized in design, manufacture and even recycling; the second is extremely reliable, with a stable structure in the entire life cycle, and the battery Zero stress, no change from the beginning to the end of the battery; the third is the ultimate manufacturing, which can achieve the ultimate manufacturing, the process path is shortened by 30%, and the GWh production efficiency is higher; the fourth is the ultimate system, which achieves a nickel content of 90%. Chemical system, using silicon carbon material. "Three tests at the cell level, module level, and system level have verified that large cylindrical batteries will become the main power source for future high-end models."
At present, the power battery market has formed a situation of three forms of square shell/blade, soft pack, and cylinder. The performance advantages of various aspects determine that the large cylindrical power battery is the optimal solution for mid-to-high-end electric vehicles in the next 5-10 years.
In terms of the layout of large cylinder products, it is reported that Yiwei Lithium Energy has laid out two main models of 4680 and 4695, and has started the construction of the 20GWh passenger car large cylinder battery project, and the future production capacity is expected to continue to grow; BAK battery 46 series large cylinders The battery is planned to be 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 this year, and mass-produced in 2023. The production capacity will be expanded to 80GWh in the next few years.
An important driving force behind the active layout of companies such as Panasonic, Yiwei, BAK, and Manly battery in the field of large cylinders is the recognition of their domestic and foreign customers. Panasonic is currently determined to supply Tesla, Yiwei Lithium also said that it will provide support for international leading car companies, and BAK has also actively verified and connected with mainstream car companies at home and abroad.
Judging from the current research and development of cylindrical batteries by various companies, the design of electrodeless tabs (full tabs), high-nickel materials, silicon anode materials, and process innovation are important factors to achieve the outstanding performance of large cylinders. According to Fan Wenguang, for the large cylinder process, in addition to the different ways of handling the current collector, the other processes are basically the same. "The difficulty of the current process is the welding technology. In the manufacturing process of the large cylinder, the welding technology is consistent. The nature of the battery directly determines the quality and consistency of the cell."
It is worth noting that CATL has iterated the CTP technology to the third generation, which is called "Kirin battery" internally. "Under the same chemical system and the same battery pack size, the power of the Kirin battery pack can be increased by 13% compared to the 4680 system. However, it is still not convincing in terms of group efficiency, and the PK in terms of safety, cost and manufacturing efficiency is also Relevant data validation is required.
