"Recently, Wang Yu, Chairman of Farasis Energy (Ganzhou) Co., Ltd., expressed his expectations for the future performance of power lithium batteries at the 4th International Summit on Power Lithium Battery Applications."
The development of power lithium batteries should be closely linked to vehicles.
The impending withdrawal of subsidies for new energy vehicles has somewhat eased the race among lithium-ion battery companies to meet energy density targets. These companies can finally breathe a sigh of relief and focus on seriously considering their future direction.
At the meeting, the delegates generally agreed that when making technology choices and conducting research and development, power lithium battery companies should closely integrate with the development trend of electric vehicles and seize the "hand of God"—the downstream vehicle manufacturers.
"We need to use the user needs feedback from vehicle manufacturers to guide the technological development direction of battery companies," Yao Wanhao, deputy general manager of Jiangsu Tafel New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., pointed out at the meeting.
Liang Rui, Vice President of Sunwoda Electronic Co., Ltd. and President of Sunwoda Electric Vehicles, said that in recent years, my country's power lithium battery industry has indeed made great progress, but in terms of battery safety, cost, and the quality of some products, there is still a gap between the current situation and market demand.
"Currently, the domestic battery manufacturing level is still at a third-tier level, lagging behind industrial-grade and automotive-grade standards. Specifically, most companies have a very low product qualification rate, around 90%, resulting in significant waste. In contrast, Japanese and Korean companies typically have a qualification rate two to three percentage points higher than domestic companies, sometimes even exceeding 95%. Manufacturing costs have become the most important reason for the high cost of batteries," said Yang Rukun, Chairman of Shenzhen Jiyang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.
Liu Jincheng, Chairman of Huizhou EVE Energy Co., Ltd., believes that the next generation of lithium battery technology must be closely linked to the next generation of electric vehicles; the next generation of battery professionals should be automotive professionals, meaning they must plan their actions according to the development path of the automotive industry to ensure the healthy development of the power lithium battery industry. The most crucial requirement is safety and reliability. Safety and reliability are inherent attributes of power lithium batteries. These inherent attributes are mandatory; batteries must first be safe and reliable before they can be used as power lithium batteries.
Li Yong, chairman of Fengfan Co., Ltd., shares the same view. He believes that, while adhering to the bottom line of quality, we should focus on key technologies and seek breakthroughs.
Wu Feng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, suggested that battery companies should collaborate with vehicle manufacturers, material suppliers, and equipment companies to develop battery materials and production processes, and develop different battery products for different vehicle models based on market demand, with different production capacities to improve production utilization.
Steadily increase energy density while ensuring safety.
The development of new energy vehicles is about to enter the era of no subsidies. Although the restrictions on the energy density of power lithium batteries have been "loosened" to a certain extent, this does not mean that power lithium batteries will stop moving towards higher energy density targets. Instead, they should steadily climb to higher energy density peaks while ensuring safety and meeting actual market demands.
In recent years, ternary lithium batteries have developed rapidly, with some products having an energy density of over 300 Wh/kg; lithium iron phosphate batteries have made progress in high-density silicon-carbon anodes, with an energy density of up to 200 Wh/kg.
Wu Feng pointed out that in the future, high-energy-density lithium batteries will use lithium-rich manganese-based materials, achieving an energy density exceeding 400 Wh/kg, and will break through the limitations of single-electron reactions, becoming multi-electron reactions. Meanwhile, solid-state batteries will also become one of the future development directions.
Currently, improving the energy density of power lithium batteries is mainly achieved through structural adjustments or optimizations of the battery's positive and negative electrode materials, such as switching the positive electrode material from lithium iron phosphate to ternary materials.
Sun Chunsheng, manager of the technical department of Xianghe Kunlun Chemical Products Co., Ltd., pointed out that even for ternary materials, in pursuit of higher energy density, there has been a transition from NCM333 to NCM523, and then gradually towards NCM622 and NCM811. High-nickel materials such as NCM811 also place higher technical requirements on electrolytes and anode materials. Therefore, it is essential to conduct basic theoretical research and innovation in advance.
Therefore, Kunlun Chemical's product R&D plan will continue to focus on liquid electrolytes, with a focus on developing special lithium salts and additives. In addition, it will also pay attention to the development of all-solid electrolytes.
Zhou Jiang, Executive Vice President and Dean of the Research Institute of Tianjin Lishen Battery Co., Ltd., stated that the challenge of high-energy-density batteries lies in achieving a balance. Regarding key indicators of power lithium batteries, such as the energy window, ensuring that energy demand is met is a choice between zero and one.
For example, high-nickel materials are prone to problems such as gas generation and cracking when cyclically cycled or stored at high temperatures, and their safety is also insufficient. Silicon materials are also prone to expansion issues, so finding the perfect balance during the design phase is crucial.
Improving energy density and safety can also be achieved through new processes. Hou Min, Vice President of Ruipu Energy Co., Ltd., explained that during the system design phase, Ruipu Energy constructed a five-level, four-dimensional safety matrix diagram. This matrix establishes electrical, structural, thermodynamic, and electrochemical characteristics, as well as controllable safety design principles and specifications at the material, battery, module, battery pack, and system levels, effectively guiding product design and development.
Furthermore, it adopts industry-leading stepless die-cutting technology, which effectively improves the specific energy and safety of the product. By introducing interface solidification technology and low heat generation and low impedance technology, it effectively improves the consistency and cycle life of the product.
