To solve the problem of soaring prices of new energy vehicles, we must first solve the price fluctuation of raw materials for power batteries. But at present, the supply and demand situation in this market is difficult to change in a short time. In the long run, the best way to solve this problem is to adhere to the diversified development of battery technology and materials and get rid of the constraints of raw materials such as lithium.
Recently, Lin Nianxiu, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, proposed at the Committee of the 100-member Forum on Electric Vehicles in China that it is necessary to consolidate the technological and industrial advantages of lithium-ion batteries, accelerate the development of new battery technologies such as sodium ion, cobalt-free, solid-state batteries and fuel cells, promote the diversification of battery technologies and materials, encourage Chinese and foreign enterprises to innovate cooperation modes, and effectively alleviate the contradiction between the supply of rare metals and rare metal resources.
Zeng Yuqun, Chairman of Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. also believes that "carbon neutrality" has spawned the demand for terawatt-hour batteries, promoted the vigorous development of new energy industry, and constantly produced new application scenarios, giving a stage for different technologies to display. Diversified technical routes also contribute to the long-term stable development of the industry.
In fact, at present, the power batteries used in new energy vehicles on the market are basically composed of lithium ferrous phosphate and ternary batteries. In the first two months of this year, the total load of power batteries in China was 29.9GWh, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 109.7%. Among them, the cumulative load of ternary batteries is 13. 1GWh, accounting for 43.8% of the vehicle load, with a cumulative year-on-year increase of 50.6%; The cumulative load of lithium iron phosphate battery is 16.7GWh, accounting for 55.9% of the vehicle load, with a cumulative increase of 203. 1% year-on-year, showing a rapid growth and development momentum. It is worth noting that the load of lithium iron phosphate battery exceeded ternary battery for the first time in February.
In addition to the above two mainstream batteries, sodium ion batteries, cobalt-free batteries, solid-state batteries and fuel cells have also developed.
On July 29th last year, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. released its first generation of sodium ion batteries. At the same time, the lithium-sodium hybrid battery package also made its debut at the press conference. This is based on the "double carbon" economy and the new energy industry entering a multi-level, multi-type and diversified development stage, as well as the differentiated demand for batteries in the new energy vehicle market.
The working principle of sodium ion battery is similar to that of lithium ion battery, and the charge transfer is realized mainly by inserting and extracting sodium ions between the positive and negative electrodes. However, the larger volume of sodium ion requires higher structural stability and dynamic performance of materials, which has also become the bottleneck for the delayed commercialization of sodium ion batteries.
The first generation sodium ion battery developed by Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. is based on the breakthrough of material system, which has the advantages of high energy density, high rate charging, excellent thermal stability, good low temperature performance and high integration efficiency. Its cell energy density is as high as 160Wh/kg (according to the plan of Contemporary Amp Technology Co., Ltd., the energy density research and development target of the next generation sodium ion battery is above 200Wh/kg); Charging at room temperature 15 minutes, the power can reach more than 80%; At the low temperature of -20℃, the discharge retention rate is above 90%. The system integration efficiency can reach more than 80%; Thermal stability also far exceeds the national safety standards.
In the manufacturing process, sodium ion battery can be perfectly compatible with lithium ion battery production equipment and technology, quickly switch production lines, and complete the rapid layout of production capacity. At present, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. has started the industrial layout of sodium ion batteries, and will form a basic industrial chain in 2023.
At present, the cost of lithium iron phosphate battery used in industry is low, but on the other hand, the energy density is usually 170- 180 Wh/kg. The energy density of ternary system can reach above 250wh/kg, but the international market price of cobalt used in ternary materials is extremely unstable and remains at a high level for a long time.
Cobalt-free technical route is mainly to balance users' pursuit of long battery life, high safety, high fast charging and low cost. Based on the NMX cobalt-free route derived from ternary system, cobalt-free materials can realize the product design of high energy density batteries.
It is understood that the cobalt-free material of honeycomb energy realizes zero cobalt element, thus being completely unaffected by the cobalt market and realizing low cost, and its energy density can be equal to that of ternary materials. Therefore, in the long run, cobalt-free batteries have great competitive advantages over lithium ferrous phosphate technology and ternary battery technology, which is an irreplaceable trend of industry development.
The battery products made of cobalt-free cathode materials of Honeycomb Energy H platform can have a cycle life of more than 2,500 times at room temperature. In terms of energy density, cobalt-free batteries can achieve 240~245Wh/kg at present, which is much higher than the level of mainstream lithium iron phosphate batteries 170~ 180Wh/kg, and very close to the level of 8 1 1 ternary lithium batteries of 240~250Wh/kg.
It is worth mentioning that Euler Cherry Cat equipped with honeycomb energy cobalt-free lithium-ion battery was unveiled at Chengdu Auto Show last year. It uses 82.5kWh cobalt-free battery pack and NEDC has a battery life of 600km. This is also the world's first new energy vehicle equipped with cobalt-free batteries. It is expected to be listed this year.
It should be noted that Nan Jian Xionggui, president of Panasonic, recently said that Panasonic will strive to achieve mass production of cobalt-free batteries within three years. This means that there is a certain market demand for cobalt-free batteries, but it will take time to test whether they will be loaded in large quantities.
Solid-state battery is a battery with solid as electrolyte and conductive medium, which is very different from liquid electrolyte battery widely used at present in raw materials and production routes. Solid-state batteries can be divided into semi-solid, quasi-solid and all-solid batteries according to the degree of curing.
Gao, vice chairman of China electric vehicle committee of 100 and academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that 2025 is a crucial period for the transition from liquid battery to solid battery. The goal of power battery industrialization in China is that by 2025, the energy density of liquid battery will reach 350 Wh/kg; In 2030, the energy density of solid-liquid hybrid battery in the transition from liquid battery to solid battery is 400 Wh/kg; In 2035, the energy density of quasi/all-solid-state batteries will reach 500Wh/kg. In 2030, it is estimated that the proportion of all-solid-state batteries in China will not exceed 1%.
At present, solid-state batteries have only developed into semi-solid-state batteries, and Weilai ET7 is the earliest one. According to the news recently exposed, Weilai ET7 uses a mixed solid-liquid electrolyte battery provided by Wei Lan New Energy, with a single charge life of 1000km. The battery is expected to start mass production at the end of this year or the first half of next year.
In terms of energy density, solid-state batteries can reduce their volume by 40% and their weight by 25% through chemical composition. Taking the patented technology of solid-state battery of Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. as an example, it is expected to break through the energy density of 500Wh/kg.
In terms of safety, compared with the current liquid electrolyte batteries, solid-state batteries have the advantages of non-flammability, non-volatilization, non-corrosion and non-leakage, and will not produce side effects even in high temperature environment. In addition, solid-state batteries have stronger temperature adaptability in structure and longer service life than liquid batteries.
Theoretically, solid-state batteries can solve most headaches of liquid electrolyte batteries at present, but there are still some difficulties in mass production and commercialization.
On March 23rd, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the Medium-and Long-Term Plan for the Development of Hydrogen Energy Industry (202 1-2035), which proposed to support the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology. It is planned that by 2025, the number of fuel cell vehicles will be about 50,000. In addition, the plan also makes it clear for the first time that hydrogen energy is an important part of the future national energy system, and hydrogen production from renewable energy is the main development direction.
Japanese and Korean car companies have been in the field of hydrogen fuel cells for a long time and their products are relatively more mature. In China, SAIC invested in FCEV earlier, invested in hydrogen injection technology, and specially developed hydrogen fuel cell system. SAIC· chase also released the fuel cell MPV-euniq 7.
Written at the end: From the current stage, the best way to solve the price increase of new energy vehicles is to ensure supply and stabilize prices, strengthen the construction of lithium, nickel, cobalt and other resources security system, accelerate the construction of a diversified supply security system that pays equal attention to development and procurement and helps each other at home and abroad to maintain market supply and demand. In the long run, it is necessary to constantly break through battery technology and find raw materials that are more in line with market demand.