Electrical Equipment / Components & Telecoms

Recently, the "Yibin on the Cloud" high-end dialogue event, one of the "2022 World Power Battery Conference" series, was held in Beijing. The event was sponsored by the Sichuan Provincial People's Government, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and jointly organized by the Equipment Industry Development Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the workstation of Academician Ouyang Minggao.

"my country's power battery industry is currently innovating rapidly and needs to continue to be maintained. Developed countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan are also continuing to cultivate in the field of power batteries, and each has its own advantages. Therefore, while we are promoting the development of the industry down-to-earth, we must also look up to the stars and continue to pay attention to it. And reserve the medium and long-term related technological innovation direction." Ouyang Minggao, a professor of Tsinghua University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.

Wu Kai, Chief Scientist of Ningde Times New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., Wang Yu, Chairman and CEO of Funeng Technology (Ganzhou) Co., Ltd., Zheng Xiang, Dean of Research Institute of Zhongxin Aviation Technology Co., Ltd., Ningbo Rongbai New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. Chairman Bai Houshan and other guests discussed topics such as "Power Battery Supply Chain Safety", "Technical Performance Potential", "Future Power Battery Technology Trends" and "Development Opportunities in Western Regions".

Establish a stable supply and demand system for battery materials

Ouyang Minggao said that from the perspective of overall supply and demand, material supply can meet long-term demand, but due to the rapid development of the electric vehicle industry, the new crown epidemic and other factors resulting in short-term supply and demand gaps, a stable supply and demand system for battery materials should be established. Smart recycling system.

Affected by multiple factors such as the industrial cycle, the epidemic, and international tensions, the cost of upstream raw materials for power batteries has continued to increase. From the perspective of the entire industrial chain, companies in each chain bear the pressure of rising costs.

Ouyang Minggao believes that at the enterprise level, upstream and downstream enterprises in the supply chain should establish long-term, stable and friendly cooperative relations with a win-win attitude. Vehicles, batteries, upstream materials of batteries, and resources should be considered together to improve long-term and short-term demand forecasting and preparation capabilities for battery materials. At the national level, it has gradually carried out effective guidance and layout for upstream production expansion, further developed domestic resources independently, and established closer bilateral cooperation with Australia, South America and other regions in terms of international cooperation to ensure the supply of raw materials. At the same time, technological innovation is an effective solution to solve metal shortages or the cost cannot meet the needs of OEMs.

In addition, Ouyang Minggao believes that efficient and intelligent recycling of battery materials should be carried out. Efficient, automated and intelligent recycling has a lot to do with the structure and architecture of the battery itself. Therefore, at the initial design end of the battery, including the design of the battery cell and the battery pack, it is necessary to consider the convenience of disassembly in the future. In the next-generation battery recycling system, the level of intelligence and automation will be greatly improved, which can further guarantee the supply of raw materials.

Continue to tap the development potential of lithium-ion batteries

In the face of the rapid development of the electric vehicle and energy storage market, the performance of power batteries in terms of high safety, high specific energy, long life and fast charging has attracted the attention of consumers. Different scenarios and different market segments have differences in product performance requirements. How to balance product economy and high performance is more of an issue for industry companies to consider.

The specific energy level of power batteries continues to rise. At present, the energy density of ternary prismatic batteries is close to 300Wh/kg, and the energy density of soft pack batteries has reached 330Wh/kg; the energy density of semi-solid batteries has also exceeded 360Wh/kg, and it is expected to achieve 400Wh/kg by 2025; the energy density of lithium-sulfur batteries is expected to be achieved in the future. Up to 600Wh/kg. At the same time, safety is also the lifeline of battery companies. Whether it is the continuous innovation and iteration of high-nickel, low-cobalt/cobalt-free, high-manganese and other technologies, it is a prerequisite to ensure the safety performance of batteries.

In terms of cycle life, with the continuous innovation of battery material technology, various battery manufacturers have brought forth new innovations in battery system technology, so that the cruising range of passenger cars has exceeded 1,000 kilometers, and the life of power batteries has exceeded the life of the whole vehicle.

Many OEMs have deployed high-power fast charging. At present, the fast charging power of passenger cars is about 50-150kW. In the next step, the fast charging power will be increased to 350kW, and it can travel 400 kilometers in 10 minutes. It can be used in highway rest areas and other scenarios to alleviate the anxiety of waiting for charging.

"We must not only balance the indicators, but also improve the absolute value. Each battery company must have its own characteristics and insist on diversified development. The performance indicators of lithium batteries should take into account the needs of different application scenarios to maximize the comprehensive benefits of batteries. We believe that the absolute value of each performance index of the battery will continue to improve, which is an inevitable trend of technological development." Ouyang Minggao said.

Battery technology presents a diversified development trend

Under the guidance of low-carbon development goals, power battery, as the core key component of new energy vehicles, its technological development trend has become a hot topic.

Ternary and lithium iron phosphate have their own characteristics and are suitable for different market segments. In the future, power batteries are likely to have more innovations in material systems. From the current point of view, the performance of sodium ion low-temperature charging and fast charging is very outstanding. Manganese-based solid-state batteries such as lithium manganate and lithium iron manganate have excellent economic performance and low-temperature performance. Both of them have entered the new generation of the industry by virtue of their respective advantages. Power battery technology research and development layout.

In terms of structural innovation, a hundred flowers are blooming, but in the end, it is to maximize the utilization efficiency of battery pack volume. At present, various power battery companies are promoting innovations in battery structure design. There are soft packs, hard shells, and cylinders, long knives and short knives, and CTP, CTC, One-Stop, and Kirin batteries are emerging one after another.

The western region ushered in the development opportunity of power battery

In recent years, under the national strategic layout of "Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle", "One Belt One Road", Yangtze River City Cluster, RCEP, etc., the economic level of the western region has been continuously improved, and the development potential and advantages of power batteries have become increasingly apparent.

The western region is rich in mineral resources, especially lithium reserves. With the acceleration of resource development, it will attract more enterprises to deploy; the western region is rich in green power resources and has unique advantages in low-carbon production and energy transformation. It is reported that CATL has built the world's single largest power battery production base with 200GWh in Yibin, and Sichuan Province's overall power battery production capacity plan ranks among the top domestically.

In addition, companies such as China Innovation Aviation and Funeng Technology have stated that they have gradually launched their layout in the southwest region, involving upstream materials, battery production, research and development, and testing.