Zhiji and Aion solid-state batteries have been put on the car one after another, and all-solid-state batteries are expected to be industrialized in 2030

Red Star Capital Bureau reported on April 9 that on April 9, GAC Aion's Haobo brand announced that it would release Haobo's "all-solid-state" battery on April 12. The day before, SAIC Motor (600104. SH) officially launched the industry's first quasi-900V ultra-fast charging solid-state battery, the first-generation light-year solid-state battery, and the first to use Zhiji's new sedan, Zhiji L6.

Liu Hao, an analyst in the automotive industry, told the Red Star Capital Bureau that under the condition that the performance of liquid lithium batteries gradually reaches the upper limit, the industry generally believes that solid-state batteries with higher safety and energy density are the upgrade direction of the next generation battery system. However, at present, the solid-state battery industry is still in its infancy, and the technical and cost problems need to be overcome urgently.

At present, BMW, Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, GAC, SAIC, Changan and many other car companies have announced plans to install all-solid-state batteries, and leading power battery companies are also increasing investment in the research and development of solid-state batteries. All-solid-state batteries are expected to become widespread around 2030.

Zhiji L6 solid-state battery attracts attention

Liu Tao, co-CEO of Zhiji Automobile, introduced that the first-generation light-year solid-state battery uses nano-scale solid-state electrolyte to encapsulate ultra-high nickel cathode and a new generation of high-energy silicon-carbon anode, with a CLTC range of more than 1,000km, a peak charging power of 400kW, and a range of 400km in 12 minutes.

There has been good news one after another, and the solid-state battery concept sector has seen a rising tide. On April 9, the solid-state battery index (BK0968) surged 6.66% to 1415.26. Xiang Fenghua(300890.HK) SZ), Defu Technology (301511. SZ), Sanxiang New Materials (603663. SH), Fengyuan Co., Ltd. (002805. SZ), Gaole Co., Ltd. (002348. SZ), Ruitai New Materials (301238. SZ), Shanghai Xiba (603200. SH), Penghui Energy (300438. SZ) and other daily limits.

Liu Hao told the Red Star Capital Bureau that the industry divides lithium batteries into liquid batteries (25wt%), semi-solid (5-10wt%), quasi-solid (0-5wt%) and all-solid (0wt%) according to the mass percentage content of liquid electrolyte in batteries. The solid-state battery abandons the electrolyte that will be unstable and flammable under high pressure, has high energy density, small size and stable performance, and solves the two major pain points of power battery life and safety. The industry is focusing on reducing the amount of liquid electrolytes and eventually achieving all-solid-state batteries.

At present, a number of car companies have launched models equipped with semi-solid-state batteries, and all-solid-state batteries have become the focus of public attention.

Zhiji Automobile advertises "the first mass production of ultra-fast charging solid-state batteries", and many industry insiders believe that strictly speaking, it is still a semi-solid-state battery.

Zhao Changjiang, general manager and chief co-creation officer of DENZA Auto, posted on Weibo, "At this time, the promotion of semi-solid-state vehicle batteries is playing with words." At present, the Weibo post has been deleted.

In response, Liu Tao said, "Word games are not what Zhiji Auto is good at, and Zhiji must practice it with practical actions." He also conducted a live broadcast at the laboratory of battery supplier Qingtao Energy, explaining light-year solid-state batteries live.

Zhiji Auto also said that there is no clear standard for semi-solid-state batteries and quasi-solid-state batteries, but the use of solid-state electrolytes can definitely be called solid-state batteries.

Compared with the insistence of Zhiji Automobile, Qingtao Energy said frankly, "This solid-state battery is a semi-solid-state battery." In order to enhance the lithium-ion conductivity of the solid electrolyte, Qingtao Energy added 10% sizing solution to the electrolyte, which reduced the total liquid content by about 5% compared with the traditional ternary lithium battery.

GAC Aion emphasized that Haobo's "all-solid-state" battery uses 100% solid-state electrolyte, which has the characteristics of ultra-high energy density, super intrinsic safety, and ultra-wide temperature range, and has "moved from the laboratory to mass production application".

At last year's Guangzhou International Auto Show, Guangzhou Automobile Group (601238. SH, 02238.HK) announced that it will install all-solid-state batteries in vehicles in 2026. GAC Aion Laboratory announced last year that it had completed the test and verification of interface modification technology for solid-state batteries and announced new technological breakthroughs. This technology will reduce the life degradation of solid-state batteries by 50%, and the battery capacity will be able to remain above 90% after 150 cycles. In February this year, GAC Aion announced that the energy density of Haobo solid-state batteries exceeded 350Wh/kg, with the same weight and 3 times the power.

All-solid-state batteries are expected to be industrialized by 2030

CATL (300750.HK) SZ) chairman Zeng Yuqun said at the performance interpretation meeting on March 15 that at the technical level, solid-state batteries still face many basic scientific problems such as solid-state ion diffusion, and are still far from commercialization.

At present, solid electrolyte materials still have some problems, such as low ionic conductivity, large interface impedance between solid electrolyte and electrode, poor interface compatibility, and easy separation of interface due to volume expansion and contraction of materials during charging and discharging. The mass production of solid-state batteries faces problems such as high material cost and difficult manufacturing process.

Weilan New Energy, Qingtao Energy and Ganfeng Lithium (002460. SZ;01772.HK) and many other companies have chosen semi-solid-state batteries, which are easier to industrialize, as transitional products, and most of the semi-solid-state batteries officially announced by car companies are expected to be installed from 2024 to 2026.

It is generally believed in the industry that solid-state batteries will be popularized around 2030.

Ouyang Minggao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said at the China Electric Vehicle 100 Forum (2024) that all-solid-state batteries are expected to be industrialized around 2030. He has said that all-solid-state batteries are recognized as one of the preferred solutions for next-generation batteries, and they are also the key commanding heights of the competition for next-generation battery technology, which may bring disruptive risks.

This is also in line with the planning of individual companies.

Li Zheng, co-founder and general manager of Qingtao Energy, introduced that the industrialization of Qingtao Energy's solid-state battery is divided into three steps: the first-generation solid-state battery, that is, the battery that is mass-produced on Zhiji Automobile, also known as the semi-solid-state battery, the second-generation solid-state battery will be developed in 2025, and the third-generation solid-state battery, that is, the all-solid-state battery.

Samsung SDI plans to mass-produce all-solid-state batteries in 2027, and Changan Automobile plans to launch liquid, semi-solid, GAC Aion said that it will realize the mass production and installation of all-solid-state batteries in 2026, and launch the high-end brand Haobo, Nissan plans to launch a pilot plant for all-solid-state batteries in 2024 and mass production and launch by 2028, Toyota plans to mass-produce all-solid-state batteries in 2030, BMW promises to mass-produce electric vehicles equipped with all-solid-state batteries by 2030, Volkswagen expects to start using all-solid-state battery technology in 2025, and Ford expects to launch models equipped with solid-state batteries in 2026......

Although it will take time for them to be widely used, all-solid-state batteries have huge market potential. China Post Securities said that solid-state batteries are currently in their infancy, and it will take some time for industrialization to take time. It is estimated that China's solid-state battery shipments will reach 251.1GWh in 2030, and the market space is expected to reach 20 billion yuan in 2030.

Red Star News reporter Wu Danruo

Edited by Deng Lingyao

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