With the accelerated development of electric vehicles around the world, various car companies are also doing their best to develop a battery cell, one of the core components of electric vehicles.
On February 19, Tesla released a statement saying that it produced the 1 millionth 4680 battery cell in the California factory in January this year. This also means that the 4680 battery cell has officially entered the mass production stage, and Tesla is expected to start delivering the Model Y equipped with the 4680 battery.
In terms of the domestic industrial chain, many leading enterprises such as Ningde Times have also invested in the mass production layout of 4680 batteries, and strive to accelerate the construction of 4680 battery cells in an all-round way.
In addition, Geely also participated in battery cell manufacturing and research and development last year, Toyota and Panasonic set up a joint venture, Honda signed a cooperation agreement with SES, PSA and Saft established a joint venture, Changan and BYD cooperated, Volkswagen and Bosch set up a joint venture company, and so on.
What is 4680?
To say 4680 then have to mention Musk, 2020 Tesla's battery day Musk brought 4680 cells, 4680 batteries are called 4680 type electrodeless ear cells, diameter of 46 mm, length of 80 mm, the structural essence is still cylindrical winding battery cell, what is cylindrical winding battery cell is said to be a blunt point is similar to roll paper.
What's so great about 4680?
First, its size has increased by 21 mm compared to the diameter of the 21700 battery cell, 70 mm high, and it has increased by about 40% in size, so the capacity is also larger. Second, 4680 uses a silicon-carbon anode material, which is a material with a theoretical higher energy density than the traditional graphite anode. And silicon materials come from a wide range of sources, low cost, ordinary people can even understand silicon raw materials as sand. Third, it is the electrodeless ear, its advantage is that the electron circulation distance is shorter, so that the energy density is higher, and the heat dissipation effect is better. Fourth, dry electrode technology, the material of the traditional battery needs to be placed in the solution, to be dried after the use, and the solution has a certain toxicity, but the dry electrode technology is to eliminate the steps of placing the solution and the drying process, the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and the cathode powder mixed, and then the mixed powder directly crushed into a thin electrode material.
Not everyone is optimistic
Although there are many advantages of the 4680 battery cell, there must be disadvantages to everything, and the 4680 battery cell inevitably has such and such shortcomings. First, the capacity density and increased size of the heat dissipation line alone may not be enough to maintain its operating temperature. Second, the recyclability of silicon raw materials is poor. When lithium ions are embedded in traditional graphite raw materials, the volume expansion of graphite raw materials is not obvious. But when the silicon raw material is embedded in lithium ions, the volume may expand more than four times, and repeated expansion and contraction may scrap the battery early. Third, the larger 4680 battery cell is difficult to maintain the ideal geometry, and long-term use may appear flawed and gradually evolve into hidden dangers.
Status and Outlook
Due to the size of the 4680 cylindrical batteries themselves, the 90% yield and the production level of 1 million 4680 large cylindrical batteries can only meet the needs of about 1000 Tesla vehicles. Compared with Tesla's current production and sales of hundreds of thousands of vehicles per month, it is difficult to achieve comprehensive coverage with the current production capacity alone.
At present, in addition to Panasonic, there are Samsung and other said that the production of 4680 batteries for Tesla is their goal, it is conceivable that the forward-looking of 4680 batteries is so high that it can provoke the "pursuit" of many mainstream battery manufacturers! In addition, it is reported that in addition to the above-mentioned suppliers, Ewell Lithium Energy has also become the object of Tesla's negotiations.
In addition to Tesla, the BMW Group also has research and development plans for large cylindrical batteries. According to online reports, bmw 4695 ternary large cylinder is expected to open bids of 100-120GWh, a 7-year cycle, and the expected time of official mass production is 2024.
The editor said
The emergence of the 4680 battery cell means another wave of "inner volume" in the electric vehicle industry, and it is estimated that in the near future, more and more emerging batteries will appear on the market. But in any case, the 4680 battery cell has entered the market with super speed, which will definitely have an impact on the existing battery industry pattern.
So, the last question is, if 4680 "fires", who is the most panicked?