Will the industrialization of solid state batteries be realized in 2023

Under the active promotion of automobile companies, the industrialization of solid-state batteries is accelerating, and it is expected to enter the market in 2023. However, there is still a long way to go before the real marketization.

Since the beginning of 2023, solid-state batteries have attracted much attention. A number of new energy vehicle companies in China have announced their own solid-state battery installation plans, and the industry has stimulated heated discussions on the industrialization of solid-state batteries once again.

1. Current situation of solid state battery

Automotive companies are actively promoting the industrialization of solid state batteries, making them possible to enter the market in 2023.

● On February 14, Qingtao Energy, the 15GWh power solid state battery energy storage industrial base, with a total investment of 10 billion RMB, officially landed in Sichuan Province, China.

Its first production line is designed to have a capacity of 1GWh, and the first semi-solid batteries are expected to officially roll off the production line in the near future.

● In the last November, the first solid state battery system jointly developed by Qingtao Energy and Beiqi Fogon for mass production commercial vehicles was commissioned.

● On February 7, Ganfeng Battery announced that SERES 5, a pure electric SUV model equipped with Ganfeng battery ternary solid-liquid hybrid lithium-ion battery, is planned to be launched in 2023.

● On February 6, NIO said that the NIO ET7 equipped with a 150-degree semi-solid state battery will be launched in the first half of this year. It is reported that in November 2022, NIO's battery supplier Welion New Energy's first solid state power cell has officially rolled off the production line.

● On January 13, Dongfeng announced that it will adopt its self-developed battery system. The 82kWh battery pack uses the industry's first mass-produced semi-solid battery.

It can be seen that Dongfeng, NIO, and Seres have announced that semi-solid batteries will be installed this year. Changan Automobile, IM Motors Technology , GAC Ai'an, Gaohe Automobile and other car companies generally plan to install semi-solid batteries before 2025.

Brands such as Volkswagen, BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Vietnam VinFast also plan to launch powered vehicles equipped with all-solid state batteries in 2025~2030.

2. Development of solid state batteries

A solid state battery is a type of battery that utilizes solid electrodes and a solid electrolyte. From the theoretical performance point of view, the energy density of solid state lithium battery can reach 2~3 times that of liquid lithium batteries. Therefore, it is regarded as one of the most potential next-generation battery technologies.

Advantages

Previously, the safety and energy density of power batteries could not reach a satisfactory state. Solid state batteries have been favored by some industries with their advantages of high safety and high energy density.

Enterprises and research institutes in China, Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States are strongly support the research and development of solid state battery technology. As a result, solid state battery technology has been rapidly developed.

Difficulties

Solid state batteries also face two difficulties: technology and industrialization.

The industry generally believes that all-solid state batteries are not expected to usher in mass production and loading until around 2030. Therefore, most of the lithium battery companies in the world follow this development path layout: liquid, semi-solid, quasi-solid, all-solid state batteries, to gradually improve the energy density of batteries.

3. Emergence of semi-solid batteries

As a compromise between lithium battery and solid state battery, semi solid battery have an electrolyte content of about 10% or less (the mass of traditional lithium battery electrolyte accounts for about 20%), and usually adopts soft packaging and laminated packaging processes.

Development

• On September 14, 2022, Gotion Hi-Tech revealed that the company's high-safety semi-solid batteries are expected to be delivered in bulk in 2023.
• And after 2025, all-solid state batteries with an energy density of more than 800Wh/L, more than 400Wh/kg, and 800 cycles will be produced.
• Farasis's semi-solid battery has an energy density of 330Wh/kg and can achieve 2.2C fast charging.
• The first semi-solid battery of Welion New Energy was released in November 2022, with an energy density of 360 Wh/kg.
• SVOLT Energy is also developing semi-solid batteries, which will have an energy density of 260Wh/kg and are expected to exceed 350Wh/kg in 2024.

Application scenario expansion

Semi-solid batteries are still on the eve of industrialization now. However, some applications have been realized in fields with high safety performance requirements and low cost sensitivity such as aerospace, military industry, and high-end drones, and will gradually expand to the field of power and consumer batteries.

Energy storage

Solid state batteries are also exploring commercial application scenarios.

● On August 18, 2022, the innovative outdoor power supply was released, using "semi-solid battery + gallium nitride high-frequency bidirectional PCS + first-principles thinking-oriented integrated structural design".

● On August 19, 2022, Zendure held a new home energy storage product SuperBase V, with an annual output of 70,000 units, and the mass production base launch ceremony. The production capacity will reach 2,000 units in October and 6,000 units in January 2023.

Moreover, SuperBase V is a fast-using home energy storage system with a semi-solid battery, 3000W solar input, 120V/240V dual voltage output capability, and customizable capacities ranging from 6.4kWh to 64kWh.

● On August 26, 2022, HyperStrong developed a new generation of HyperSafe series: intrinsically safe solid state battery energy storage system products.

It is mainly aimed at different application scenarios such as residential, energy storage power station and industrial and commercial Project cases include: Shandong Energy Storage Power Station in China; Energy storage capacity: 101MW/202MWh.

Power battery

Seizing the window of the transition period, semi solid battery manufacturers such as Qingtao Energy, ProLogium Technology, Tailan New Energy, and Welion New Energy have obtained the dual blessing of capital and technology. And are rapidly promoting the construction and loading testing of semi-solid battery production capacity.

In terms of production capacity, in July 2020, the 0.1GWh semi-solid battery production line of Welion New Energy was put into operation; In 2021, the semi-solid battery production capacity of ProLogium Technology reached 1GWh.

It can be seen that the three major problems faced by semi-solid battery companies.

• At present, it still does not have the capacity of mass production.
• Semi-solid battery applications are still stuck in the military, aerospace and demonstration energy storage projects.
• The commercialization path still needs to be explored and constructed.

It is predicted that the turning point for commercialization of semi-solid batteries will be in 2024 - 2025. The market feedback of demonstration loading by Dongfeng, NIO, Seres and other enterprises will accelerate the commercialization of semi-solid batteries.

4. The future of solid state batteries

There are many performances in the market for studying whether solid state batteries are on the right path. Semi-solid state batteries, as a compromise between lithium batteries and solid state batteries, have also been questioned.

Challenges

So far, the development of solid state batteries still faces the following difficulties.

● In terms of technology, the unstable contact of solid state interfaces affects the performance of performance;

• Poor conductivity of solid electrolyte;
• The use of lithium metal is prone to dendrite growth, resulting in safety risks and other problems.

● In terms of industrialization, the cost of early products is high;

• The all-solid state battery industry chain needs to be reconstructed on a large scale;
• New equipment development and production environment are demanding;
• Critical materials are expensive.

Solutions

Solid state battery companies need to actively expand new application scenarios such as power and energy storage, enhance industrial application value, and accelerate the commercialization process, which can be started from the following two aspects.

On the one hand, material innovation for continuous cost reduction;

• Improved electrolyte material properties;
• Break through the problems of low conductivity of existing electrolytes;
• Improve intrinsic safety and reduce the risk of thermal runaway;
• Continuously innovate materials, introduce new cathode and anode, solid electrolytes, etc., to reduce material costs;
• Improve energy density and reduce the cost of electricity.

On the other hand, optimize the production process and process of production line equipment.

• Innovate product structure; lithium ion battery anode material companies can also provide related technologies.
• Improve the yield and efficiency of cell packaging and realize large-scale production.

In the practice of industrial transformation, the lack of clear technical direction is a common phenomenon in new industries. Similarly, the presence of risk shows that there are numerous opportunities.

Industry chain enterprises have always faced various challenges. To persevere in the cruel market, they must seize every opportunity. At the same time, they should remain vigilant in the selection of new technologies to avoid adverse effects. In this way, it is possible to maintain a sustained competitive advantage in the new round of brutal knockouts.

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