"Charging for 5 minutes, high-speed for 2 hours", just when many new energy vehicle owners are still anxious about energy replenishment, the full-stack self-developed "second-generation gold brick battery" released by ZEEKR in August has surpassed everyone's imagination, and the charging efficiency is only 10 and a half minutes from 10% to 80%, becoming the world's fastest mass production charging power battery.
This lithium iron phosphate super battery, which has a charging speed that exceeds all mass-produced ternary lithium batteries, has attracted the attention of the whole industry. Recently, Chang Ting, the host of CCTV, and the CCTV "Super Factory" column team walked into the ZEEKR Weirui Sandian Intelligent Manufacturing Factory in Quzhou to explore the secrets behind the "second-generation golden brick battery". This visit is also the first time that the "Super Factory" column group has entered a new energy and electric power enterprise.
5 minutes of charging, 2 hours of high speed for the energy core
Quzhou factory is one of the four production bases of Weirui, a subsidiary of ZEEKR Intelligent Technology, with a total area of 1,567 acres, and is the first pilot enterprise of "Future Factory" of three electric vehicles in Zhejiang Province. Whether it is the second-generation golden brick battery or the world's leading 800V high-performance SiC four-motor distributed electric drive, it was born here.
Different from general OEMs, ZEEKR has the production and manufacturing capacity of battery cells relying on the Quzhou factory, and has completed the comprehensive layout of new energy and electric power. Lu Nan, director of battery cell manufacturing at Quzhou factory, said: "The manufacturing of new energy vehicle three-electric products is a huge industrial chain, and the battery cell is the most critical part of the battery, and it is also the last piece of the puzzle of the three-electric system. The self-development and self-manufacturing of battery cells have built our own technical moat, which also helps us avoid the instability of the industrial chain as much as possible and achieve cost reduction and efficiency increase. ”
The realization of the second generation of gold brick battery "5 minutes of charging, 2 hours of high speed" is closely related to the material innovation, structural innovation and process innovation of the cell. The battery cell is the core that determines the energy density, charge-discharge efficiency, and cycle life of the battery.
Under the leadership of the director of the battery cell factory, the host Chang Ting visited the production line of the 100% automated production cell factory and learned about the key processes such as pulping, coating, rolling, and lamination.
In the factory, the busy AGV equipment, the CCD intelligent detection camera that automatically identifies risks and gives early warnings, and the fast-running automatic die-cutting and stacking machine all make people deeply impressed by this "factory of the future". This cell factory is the result of the innovative practice of modern intelligent industry, where the efficiency of the battery cell production line is as high as 24 PPM, and a single line rolls off the assembly line every 2.5 seconds, achieving the highest production efficiency in the industry among similar products.
Not only has the level of automation reached the top level in the industry, but the production cleanliness of the battery cell factory is also comparable to that of medical surgery, and the environment of the baking process reaches minus 60 degrees Celsius at the dew point. Strict environmental control is to maximize the quality of battery cells and the safety of batteries.
The host Chang Ting also sighed during the visit: "It is the technological innovation again and again, the high standards and strict requirements for each production link, that make us feel its efficient kinetic energy when driving the ZEEKR car." ”
Adhere to technological innovation to create a "dual" ultimate experience
The second stop of the factory visit is the battery factory, where the finished battery cells are assembled. From the battery cell to the battery pack, it needs to be accurately stacked three times, and the small errors continue to accumulate and become larger, which will affect the performance stability and cycle life of the battery. Therefore, the accumulation of cell thickness errors has always been a recognized problem in the industry.
In the battery factory, the host Chang Ting focused on visiting Weirui's original "cell cluster stacking technology". The director of the battery factory introduced: "In these three stacking processes, Weirui's stacking technology takes the center point as the benchmark, stacks them in turn to the four sides, and finally applies a certain amount of pressure while stacking at a fixed length to ensure the final alignment of the poles. This will greatly reduce the dimensional error, ensure the consistency of cell expansion, and improve the service life and safety of the battery. ”
Weirui's independent innovation is much more than that. The factory director specially took Chang Ting to visit the integrated liquid-cooled tray innovatively designed by Weirui.
Unlike the two independent parts of the general tray and the cold plate on the market, which need to be assembled on the line, Weirui's integrated liquid-cooled tray is an integrated design, which not only improves production efficiency. Moreover, because the cold plate is installed inside the tray and does not occupy the space of cell stacking, the volume utilization rate of the battery is further improved, and the high energy density and long battery life of the gold brick battery are also achieved.
If the second-generation golden brick battery pushes the user's charging experience to the extreme, then the 800V high-performance SiC four-motor distributed electric drive brings the ultimate driving experience. At the last stop of this factory visit, the host came to the electric drive factory.
The technological innovation of the electric drive factory is also impressive: the advanced electrically heated drip paint automatic process successfully solves the industry difficulty of not full drop paint, and the filling rate in the drop paint tank is ≥ 99%; NVH noise detection, online simulation of actual road conditions for fully automated and accurate testing, without letting go of any error; The use of 3D cameras to assist robots in automatic welding is a work of art, both in terms of welding process and welding results.
The high standards of these production technologies are the driving force behind the global new energy vehicle "performance ceiling" ZEEKR 001 FR to achieve 000 acceleration in 2.02 seconds and the tank U-turn.
With new quality productivity, let China's luxury cars lead the world
In Lu Nan's view, the ZEEKR Weirui Sandian Intelligent Manufacturing Factory can be summarized by three key words: "intelligent, efficient, and environmentally friendly", which not only achieves the world's leading manufacturing strength of the Quzhou factory, but also builds a new quality productivity dedicated to Weirui.
Whether it is the level of intelligent manufacturing that surpasses the national standard, the production efficiency that stands at the commanding heights of the industry, or the environmentally friendly manufacturing capability that practices the concept of green and low-carbon in the whole link, it is promoting Weirui to achieve high-quality development and providing strong supply support for ZEEKR.
Faced with the question of "how to win the decisive game of automotive new energy transformation", ZEEKR has given its own answer - "three 800 full ecological solutions", that is, full-stack 800V cars, 800V power batteries, and 800V energy supplement networks. From the release of the first generation of BRICS batteries at the end of 2023 to the product performance upgrade and full-scale mass production in just 8 months, Weirui has always been one step ahead of others in terms of product development iteration and production efficiency.
As summarized in the "Super Factory" column, the fully automated intelligent manufacturing process and the world's leading R&D and production model constitute the ZEEKR Weirui Sandian Intelligent Manufacturing Factory in Quzhou that we see today. At the same time, the excellence of every production link, continuous technological innovation, and the pursuit of safety and quality are also the source of ZEEKR's strength and confidence to become a leading new energy vehicle.