18500 battery

　　Solid oxide 18500 battery technology breaks the ice, but the industrial chain needs to be improved urgently

　　Solid oxide 18500 battery (SOFC) is an electrochemical power generation technology with high efficiency and wide fuel range, which is currently in the early stages of commercialization.

　　After 15 years of intensive research and development, Chaozhou Sanhuan (Group) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Sanhuan) Research Institute has made breakthroughs in key core technologies of SOFC, and the annual export volume of key components has exceeded 200 million yuan. Not long ago, the solid oxide 18500 battery stack engineering development project of the national key research and development plan led by it was officially launched.

　　This is our city’s first national key research and development plan project, and it is also an important project to promote the transformation and upgrading of our city’s industrial structure. Zhang Chuansheng, member of the Standing Committee of the Chaozhou Municipal Party Committee and executive deputy mayor of Guangdong Province, said that this is another major innovative measure for the Third Ring Road and a highlight of Chaozhou’s technological development.

　　It’s not too late to start domestically, but it’s difficult to commercialize

　　SOFC's electricity conversion efficiency is as high as over 65%, while traditional thermal power generation is only about 30% on average. It also has a wide range of fuel sources and is green and environmentally friendly. It is recognized as the first choice for the next generation of clean energy. Chen Shuoshuo, deputy director of the institute, said that SOFC can be used in distributed energy fields such as data centers, hospitals, and airports. In the future, it can also play a complementary role in green grids to stabilize grid fluctuations caused by wind energy and solar energy.

　　Developed countries generally regard SOFC as a strategic reserve technology. As one of my country's strategic emerging industries, the 18500 battery industry is not too late to start in this global SOFC technology race.

　　Since the 1990s, some universities and scientific research institutes in my country have participated in the research and development of SOFC technology and accumulated a large number of scientific research results. And as technology maturity gradually improves, more and more domestic companies are participating.

　　However, due to the high difficulty and investment in research and development, this technology has been difficult to commercialize. SOFC development needs to solve the core key issues of performance, life, cost and reliability. Chen Shuoshuo said. As a company focusing on the R&D and production of advanced materials, Sanhuan has begun R&D and mass production of SOFC-related technologies since 2004. But the road to research and development is not smooth.

　　In recent years, Guangdong has paid more attention to technological innovation to support high-quality development. By cultivating and strengthening various innovative entities such as high-tech enterprises and technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises, Guangdong has vigorously supported enterprises in building R&D institutions and forged the backbone of innovation and entrepreneurship in Guangdong.

　　Thanks to this, Sanhuan established a research institute and technical committee. The research institute plays a key role in SOFC technology research and development.

　　It took 15 years to develop 18500 batterys

　　The first technology to address is the diaphragm. Chen Shuoshuo said that when the 18500 battery is working, under high temperature, the gas will burn violently as soon as it comes into contact with the air. The key is to use a layer of electrolyte diaphragm to separate the positive and negative electrodes, prevent direct contact between fuel and air, and conduct electricity. If the diaphragm is made thick and the internal resistance is high, it will not be able to pass large current; if it is made thin, it will leak easily. The quality of the diaphragm affects the reliability of the entire system.

　　With its excellent technical accumulation, the conductivity and material density of the electrolyte separator developed by the institute are close to the theoretical values.

　　Along with this came the development of single cells. The performance of a single battery determines the performance of the entire product. In order to test the stability, a test requires at least 5,000 hours. There are too many testing tasks, and the relevant aging test equipment fills a large room of 400 square meters. Chen Shuoshuo joked that these single batteries not only burned natural gas, but also 'burned' the years of 15 teams.

　　From raw materials to every step of the production process, researchers repeatedly tested and finally solved all technical problems.

　　Battery sheets the size of business cards are stacked together to form a stack. This is the core part of the 18500 battery. Chen Shuoshuo said that by 2016, researchers had developed a 1.5-kilowatt standard stack, which could be assembled into a higher-power stack or module through simple series-parallel connection. The power generation efficiency of the stack is over 68%, and its lifespan is expected to reach 5 years.

　　Solid oxide diaphragms are now exported in large quantities because the technology is firmly in their own hands. Chen Shuoshuo is not without pride. At present, Sanhuan has become the world's largest SOFC electrolyte separator supplier and the largest SOFC single cell supplier in the European market.

　　Attract more entities and integrate resources for development

　　Although SOFC technology has been launched and industrialized in foreign markets, the promotion and application of SOFC in my country still needs further development due to the lack of policy support and the lack of integration of the industrial chain.

　　In Chen Shuoshuo's view, domestic SOFC technology development started not too late, but the industry is obviously lagging behind the world's advanced level. In the final analysis, resources have not been integrated well.

　　The development of SOFC is inseparable from the joint participation of related supporting industries, including chemical, thermal and electrical fields. He pointed out that so far, no domestic enterprise has invested heavily in SOFC system integration and industrialization work; universities and colleges have the technology, but do not have the capabilities of engineering and industrialization.

　　Chen Shuoshuo was greatly encouraged by the launch of the solid oxide 18500 battery stack engineering development project. The goal of this project is to solve technical problems such as the consistency and lifespan of SOFC single cells and stacks, form engineering technology for SOFC single cells and stacks, and achieve mass production. He hopes that driven by this project, more market entities can be attracted to participate in the integrated development of SOFC systems, fill the gaps in my country's industrial chain, and jointly promote the development of SOFC.

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