What exactly is the "honeycomb battery," the core lithium-ion battery technology used in new energy vehicles? As the three most crucial components of new energy vehicles—electric drive, battery, and motor—lithium batteries directly impact the vehicle's range, power, and safety. The newly released honeycomb battery technology has attracted considerable attention from industry professionals and new energy vehicle users. Let's explore this cutting-edge technology together!
What exactly is this "cellular battery" technology?
Recently, the new energy vehicle power lithium battery industry has been making headlines with a series of developments, including the strong release of the "blade battery," the unveiling of the new "sandwich" structure battery pack, and the debut of the "honeycomb battery," making power lithium batteries the focus of attention for many.
The honeycomb battery is the latest achievement of JAC New Energy after 14 years of research and development, characterized by safety, all-weather availability, and higher energy density. JAC New Energy vehicles equipped with honeycomb batteries meet automotive-grade safety standards, completely eliminating users' safety concerns. The honeycomb battery uses low-energy cells, ensuring that even if a single cell experiences thermal runaway, the lithium battery pack and the entire vehicle will not catch fire.
The honeycomb battery is a completely new concept in lithium battery structure, alongside CATL's CTP technology, BYD's "blade battery," and "sandwich" structure battery packs. Reports of the "honeycomb battery" first appeared in March 2020. It is a power lithium battery specifically developed for new energy vehicles. Compared to ordinary power lithium batteries, the "honeycomb battery" fully utilizes the biomimetic design of a honeycomb structure, employing UE technology for unitized packaging. All cells within the lithium battery pack are 360° covered with lightweight self-leveling thermally conductive adhesive, creating a safe and comfortable home for each cell.
The cells of the honeycomb battery are arranged in a hexagonal pattern, with thermally conductive adhesive filling the spaces between them. This ensures rapid heat dissipation. The 100% contact between the thermally conductive adhesive and the cells further accelerates heat dissipation. The electrochemical reactions within the cells inevitably generate heat, and the thermally conductive adhesive quickly transfers this heat away, ensuring that the temperature difference inside the battery pack is ≤3℃.
The cells of a honeycomb battery are filled with thermally conductive adhesive, achieving electrical and thermal isolation between the individual lithium battery cells. If one cell fails, it will not affect the surrounding cells, thus preventing a chain reaction.
The cellular battery uses NCA cylindrical lithium batteries supplied by Lishen Battery, which is also a supplier for Tesla Model 3 and Mercedes-AMG hybrid models. Unlike other models, the iC5 did not choose pouch or prismatic batteries, but instead opted for cylindrical lithium batteries, which requires more stringent manufacturing processes for the battery pack design.
The design of the cellular battery makes the cell size small and the module structure flexible, which can make full use of the irregular space of the battery pack and obtain the maximum battery pack energy.
Compared to the "blade battery," the "honeycomb battery" should not be underestimated. The new lithium battery structure concept has greatly improved the energy density of power batteries, and the range has also increased by nearly 30% year-on-year. As representatives of lithium iron phosphate batteries, the "blade battery" and the "honeycomb battery" have a very important impact on the comeback of lithium iron phosphate batteries.
What are the advantages of "cellular batteries"?
1. In terms of safety performance, the "honeycomb battery" uses a design of multiple independent cells combined in a honeycomb structure. Even if a single cell experiences thermal runaway, this structure prevents the entire battery pack from catching fire. The honeycomb battery has undergone numerous rigorous tests. These included direct heating with gasoline from the bottom for 130 seconds and direct flame contact with the battery pack for 130 seconds. The honeycomb battery withstood these extreme tests.
2. In terms of its range, the energy density of the "honeycomb battery" is higher than that of ordinary power batteries because the overall cell size is smaller and the module structure is more flexible. The combination of the honeycomb structure greatly improves the maximum energy of the battery pack. The cell heat exchange area is more than 14 times that of other domestic products, and the range has reached an unprecedented 530KM, which is in an absolute leading position among many power batteries.
3. In terms of specific usage climate, "cellular batteries" can be used in all weather conditions. Their honeycomb-like structure greatly reduces energy decay caused by temperature fluctuations. Similar to how a honeycomb maintains a suitable temperature for bees to maximize performance, lithium batteries heat up quickly in low winter temperatures, reducing range reduction, and cool down rapidly in high summer temperatures, effectively extending battery life.
Meanwhile, the "honeycomb battery" has passed extreme safety tests, including temperature and humidity cycling from -40 to 80°C, 130-second fire exposure, 200KN compression, and continuous immersion in 1 meter of water for 12 hours, demonstrating excellent performance. While power lithium battery technology is advancing rapidly with new technologies emerging constantly, honeycomb batteries, which emphasize safety technology improvements, clearly hold greater significance in the current pursuit of energy density.
In summary, a key characteristic of the lithium battery industry's development over the years has been its rapid technological iteration. Initially, CATL introduced CTP technology, followed by BYD's highly touted blade battery, and now JAC Motors has its honeycomb battery. All three lithium battery technologies represent innovations and advancements at the application level. Which of these three lithium battery technologies will emerge victorious in a comparison? Let's wait and see!
