According to him, one-third of the 1,000 new energy vehicles at the Shanghai World Expo used lithium-ion batteries, which is a considerable number. However, Japan's lithium-ion battery technology is more mature than my country's, which is related to the development level of the entire industry chain. my country lags significantly behind foreign countries in terms of the consistency of raw material quality, the performance level of key materials, equipment level, and the comprehensive indicators of batteries. He said there are essentially two solutions: first, to introduce and develop advanced equipment with a high degree of automation; and second, to rely on the accumulation of time and quantity. From a technical perspective, lithium-ion batteries do indeed restrict the development of electric vehicles, mainly due to high costs, insufficient energy density, and the need to improve cycle life. Huang Youyuan believes these problems can be solved in two ways: first, through technological advancements; and second, by developing market operation and commercialization models suitable for the current technological maturity. The commercialization of electric vehicles may change people's transportation and energy utilization methods. During the development of electric vehicles, their market positioning may change continuously with technological advancements. Therefore, at different technological stages, electric vehicles need to adopt specific commercial operation methods to achieve marketization.
The head of a lithium-ion battery company stated that industrialization is ultimately guided by commercialization, and the integration of industry resources must also be guided by commercial operations. He explained that many companies in China's electric vehicle industry chain are currently seeking in-depth cooperation.
Regarding power lithium-ion battery technology, Xiao Chengwei believes that it is entirely possible for my country's lithium-ion battery performance to improve by more than 30% from its current level. This improvement can be achieved through enhancements in raw material performance, battery design, process control, and battery pack integration.
Huang Xuejie believes that before 2015, electric vehicle batteries will primarily follow a technology roadmap based on lithium iron phosphate batteries. By 2015, battery pack lifespan will reach 10 years, and costs will be competitive. By 2020, cathode materials to replace lithium iron phosphate will certainly emerge, and it is expected that battery energy density will double while costs will be halved. He explained that a layered oxide based on lithium manganese oxide already exists, with a specific capacity greater than 250 mAh/g. Next-generation material technologies promise to enable batteries to achieve this improvement.
