Of course, BYD is not idle.
On March 29th, BYD held an online conference in Shenzhen.
As a car manufacturer that started with batteries, few people will question BYD's R&D ability in the three-electricity technology. Therefore, when BYD's "Super Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery" was released, it was both reasonable and expected. The only surprise is that BYD did not give it a more "dazzling" name, but directly followed the name of the internal development period-blade battery.
▲ BYD blade battery conference held on March 29th.
Last year, Wang Chuanfu, chairman of BYD, said at the mid-year performance exchange meeting that this blade battery can not only meet the 600-kilometer battery life of electric vehicles, but also greatly improve the discharge rate. The service life is 8 years, 6.5438+0.2 million kilometers, and the cost can be saved by 30%. The energy density will increase by nearly 50% when the battery volume is reduced.
The development of science and technology is like reincarnation. We should know that most of the batteries used in the embryonic stage of the domestic new energy automobile industry are lithium iron phosphate batteries. But then, the ternary lithium battery won the favor of the consumer market with its ultra-high energy density and good low-temperature cruising range, and the lithium iron phosphate battery gradually faded out of our sight.
The return of lithium iron phosphate battery not only brought new technology, but also happened to catch up with the chaos of ternary lithium battery, and spontaneous combustion incidents emerged one after another. It seems that now is the critical moment for lithium iron phosphate battery to "set things right".
▲ Shanghai Tesla spontaneous combustion event
So what's remarkable about BYD's blade battery? Can we reverse the weak position of lithium iron phosphate battery at present?
1. What is a blade battery?
Simply put, the blade battery is the "advanced evolution version" of the ordinary lithium iron phosphate battery.
▲ Blade battery appearance
As we all know, power battery consists of three parts: battery core, battery module and battery pack. These three parts have nothing to do with the type of battery, whether it is ternary lithium battery or lithium iron phosphate battery, until contemporary Anpu Technology Co., Ltd. introduced CTP technology.
The principle of this technology is well understood, that is, the battery module is removed and the monomer is directly assembled into a battery pack, thus greatly improving the energy density of the battery.
In essence, BYD's blade battery is very similar to the CTP scheme of Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. CTP, also known as "CelltoPack", simply omits the intermediate module link and integrates the battery directly into the battery pack. At present, there are only three products with this technology: LG's 590 battery, contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd., limited CTP solution and BYD blade battery.
▲ CTP scheme of Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd.
According to BYD's official definition, this is a "super lithium iron phosphate battery" with a new structure. Through structural innovation, modules can be skipped during grouping, which greatly improves the volume utilization rate and finally achieves the design goal of loading more batteries in the same space.
Regarding BYD's blade battery, we also found the following patent applications in the State Patent Office:
The battery patent in the picture is a battery pack design patent. In this battery pack, BYD skillfully adopted the design of long single cells, and then assembled a plurality of long single cells into a battery array, thus improving the capacity of the battery pack. At the same time, the single battery has its specific size, and the rigidity of the whole battery pack is improved through the battery itself.
In addition, BYD has improved battery cells, so that more battery cells can be placed in the battery pack. At the same time, because the use of beams or longitudinal beams in the battery pack is reduced (even without beams or longitudinal beams), the space utilization rate of the battery pack is improved, and the capacity, voltage and endurance of the whole battery pack are further improved.
Advantages and disadvantages of blade battery
Combing the contents of the conference, we will find that the real advantages of blade batteries are three points: long battery life, high safety and low cost.
▲ Wang Chuanfu, chairman of BYD, is explaining the advantages of blade batteries.
Let's talk about long battery life, which is mainly related to the improvement of space utilization of blade batteries.
The energy density of blade battery can reach 180Wh/kg, which is about 9% higher than that of traditional power battery. In addition, the space utilization rate of traditional battery pack is only 40%, while the space utilization rate of blade battery pack can reach more than 60%.
The direct benefit of improving the space utilization rate is to greatly improve the cruising range of the car. For example, the blade battery is increased by 40% ~ 60%, and a new energy vehicle with a cruising range of 400 kilometers can directly increase the cruising range of nearly 100 kilometers after installing the blade battery.
However, compared with the improvement of cruising range, safety is the real "killer" of blade batteries. This is also the most important reason why BYD firmly believes that blade batteries can subvert the industry.
As we just mentioned, the use of beams and longitudinal beams is reduced, the manufacturing process of battery pack is simplified, the assembly complexity of single battery is reduced, and the weight of battery pack is reduced to some extent.
Theoretically, the electric vehicle using this battery pack can realize light weight and improve endurance. In addition, because the single battery is hard shell (aluminum shell or steel shell) and its size is very long, the structural strength of the battery pack can be directly guaranteed by the single battery itself, and there is no need to reinforce the structure, so the battery pack is not easy to deform under the action of external force.
In addition to the structural strength, the promotional video at the press conference also played a role in "stabilizing the military's morale." The video shows that the blade battery is superior to the other two experimental batteries (ternary lithium battery and traditional lithium iron phosphate battery) in all aspects, especially ternary lithium battery.
▲ BYD officially released a comparative video, and the ternary lithium battery could not stand a little puncture.
After puncture, the blade battery has no open flame and smoke, the surface temperature of the battery is only about 30 ~ 60℃, and the eggs on the battery surface are still in a flowable liquid state.
But frankly, although this performance looks very bright, in fact, due to the physical characteristics of lithium iron phosphate battery, this battery has never experienced combustion, explosion, smoke and other phenomena even in the early stage. The main purpose of BYD's promotional film is to tell consumers that the blade battery can ensure high safety on the premise of achieving a longer cruising range than the ternary lithium battery.
▲ Even the early lithium iron phosphate battery is still more stable and safe than the ternary lithium battery.
Under the guarantee of long battery life and high safety, we habitually think that the cost of blade batteries will increase, but it is not. Because the blade battery saves the link of battery module assembly, the number of battery parts is reduced by 40%, the volume utilization rate of CTP battery is increased by 15%-20%, and the production efficiency is increased by 50%, so the manufacturing cost of blade battery is greatly reduced.
Generally speaking, BYD's blade battery is not a technological innovation of the battery itself, but more an innovation and optimization of the battery pack. But objectively speaking, it does play the purpose of reducing weight and improving battery capacity.
But considering that only three companies have the ability to manufacture this kind of battery, we should applaud the manufacturer who is the "originator of battery" in China.
3. What models can be used?
According to the news, the current "Blade Battery" has been rolled off the assembly line in Chongqing Bishan Fudi Battery Factory, with an annual production capacity of 20GWH. And what is certain is that BYD Han EV will be the first to be equipped with "blade battery", and other models have no mass production plans for the time being. According to the timeline of the new car, Han EV will also meet with us this year.
▲ BYD Han EV will take the lead in using blade power?
In addition, Tesla has reached a cooperation with Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd.. Next, Tesla will continue to purchase cobalt-free batteries from Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd.. It is understood that this cobalt-free battery is actually the latest lithium ferrous phosphate CTP battery of Contemporary Amp Technology Co., Ltd., and it is a "close relative product" with BYD blade battery.
It can be seen that although there are not many models of BYD using blade batteries this year, other manufacturers with similar technologies have also developed and matured, so it is not excluded that other manufacturers will also have new cars equipped with "super lithium iron phosphate batteries". Even if we put aside contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd., I believe manufacturers such as LG Chem, Samsung SDI, Panasonic and SKI are already eager to try.
Once these huge suppliers have technical support, the speed of bringing products to market will be very fast. BYD does lead in blade batteries, but the gap is only half a step away. If you want to surpass your competitors with technology, BYD should seize this "gap period" as the best solution.
▲ Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. and other manufacturers have also carried out corresponding research and development work on "super lithium iron phosphate battery"
Write it at the end
Did BYD's blade battery really subvert the industry? Objectively speaking, it did play a certain role in promoting, and it was also presented to consumers in the best time and in the best way. But again, if an advanced technology can be easily copied by others, it cannot be called subversion.
After the spontaneous combustion of various new energy vehicles, it is only a matter of time before the ternary lithium battery is ended, and the emergence of new battery technology is even more logical. Whether BYD, Contemporary Ampere Technology or LG, they all hitchhiked for the first time with their long-term accumulated technical knowledge.
BYD has finally completed the transformation and upgrading of lithium iron phosphate battery, which has become a basic technology that may lead new energy vehicles into the next evolutionary stage. However, for another strong competitor, Ningde, a large producer of ternary lithium batteries, it poses great pressure. Although Ningde is also developing related technologies, it is obviously half a beat slower at this time.
Coupled with BYD's own automobile production capacity, battery technology can be quickly applied to mass production models for promotion, feedback and continuous improvement, which is half a step behind Ningde, which simply produces batteries.
However, the battery technology itself is dynamic, and opportunities are reserved for Ningde or other battery manufacturers. This is a real technology cycle. Maybe next time, which manufacturer will make a comeback with the "improved ternary lithium battery"?
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This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.