6F22 battery

How to evaluate the technical level of domestic power 6F22 battery?

Under the premise of ensuring safety, improving energy density, reducing production costs, and improving product consistency are topics of widespread concern in the power battery industry. The production cost curve is constantly fluctuating, and product consistency is not easy to quantify. If you want to evaluate the technical level of power battery companies, comparing the energy density of cells is the most intuitive method.

Square shell: CATL and BYD may not be behind

Official data shows that the energy density of CATL's square shell cells has reached 240Wh/kg at this stage, and the technical plan is to increase the energy density of cells to 300Wh/kg before 2020.

While increasing the energy density through 811 ternary positive electrode + silicon/carbon mixed negative electrode, the cycle, high temperature performance, cost, safety, etc. must be sacrificed, and the production process and environmental requirements are also relatively harsh. According to an insider, the energy density of the square-shell 6F22 battery supplied by CATL in large quantities in 2017 was between 190 and 210Wh/kg, and it is likely to increase to 210 to 230Wh/kg in 2018.

As early as the beginning of 2017, CATL launched the "New Generation of Lithium-ion Power Battery Industrialization Technology Development" project to develop lithium-ion power batteries with high-nickel ternary materials as positive electrodes and silicon-carbon composites as negative electrodes. In 2017, CATL's total production capacity was 17.09Gwh, and the newly released new version of the prospectus shows that when the Huxi lithium-ion power battery production base project reaches full production, CATL will add 24GWh of production capacity, and the total production capacity will reach 41.09GWh.

According to an insider of BYD, the energy density of BYD's large-scale mass-produced 6F22 battery is 220Wh/kg at this stage, and the goal is to achieve 300Wh/kg before 2020. Today, BYD's total power battery production capacity is 16GWh, of which lithium iron phosphate batteries account for 9GWh and ternary lithium batteries account for 7GWh.

Internationally, square shell cells are also the main products of Samsung SDI. In 2017, Zheng Shixiong, vice president of Samsung SDI Co., Ltd., publicly stated that the energy density of Samsung SDI's power batteries is currently 250Wh/kg, and it is expected to reach the goal of 350Wh/kg in 2023. Perhaps Samsung has really achieved large-scale mass production of 250Wh/kg square shell cells in 2017, but it is estimated that NCA ternary positive electrode materials may be used.

There are many types of square shell batteries. According to customer requirements, battery companies can customize capacity, shape and size. Considering the differences in the formulation of positive and negative electrode materials, the energy density between square shell cells of the same specification is more comparable. The gap between leading square shell power battery companies at home and abroad in cell energy density may be very small. Perhaps from this technical condition alone, China may not lag behind too much.

Cylindrical: Can BAK surpass Panasonic?

As one of the few domestic companies focusing on cylindrical power batteries, BAK told the First Electric Network that the energy density of its 2.75Ah power battery cell (18650) has reached 240Wh/Kg, and plans to achieve 300Wh/kg in 2020.

At the same time, BAK is also committed to the research and development of high-energy-ratio 21700 cylindrical power 6F22 battery. Officials revealed that compared with 18650 products, the single energy density of BAK 21700 has increased by 35% (reaching the level of 324Wh/kg?), and it currently has mass production capacity and is expected to achieve mass production in 2018.

BAK's two major production bases in Shenzhen and Zhengzhou have a total annual production capacity of 8GWh; in 2018, the production capacity will be expanded to 12GWh; it is expected that by 2020, BAK's total annual production capacity will reach 20GWh.

According to the information released by Tesla in 2017, the energy density of Panasonic's mass-produced NCA18650 cylindrical power 6F22 battery is around 250Wh/kg, while the energy density of 21700 cells has reached 300Wh/kg. If BAK can mass-produce 21700 cylindrical batteries in 2018, its energy density can surpass Panasonic's level in 2017, which is nearly 8% higher.

Is this true? In 2018, Panasonic has not publicly announced the latest commercial technology progress. If BAK can really achieve mass production of 324Wh/kg cylindrical cells in 2018, then this may become the world's highest energy density mass-produced power battery.

Soft pack: Perhaps more scientific research significance

Soft pack, compared with hard shell (square shell, cylinder), is a common packaging method for batteries, so it is parallel to cylinder and square.

Tianneng's mass-produced soft-pack battery cell energy density has reached 230Wh/kg/kg, and 250-260Wh/kg products will be launched by the end of 2018. At present, Tianneng's soft-pack power battery production capacity is 2.5GWh-3GWh, which will be expanded to about 8GWh in 2019, and all the new production capacity is ternary soft-pack.

The energy density of the 6F22 battery currently supplied by Kane New Energy is 220Wh/kg, and the products in 2018 will reach 250Wh/kg. As of the end of 2017, Kane New Energy's total production capacity was 2GWh, which will be expanded to 6GWh by the end of 2018.

Guoxuan High-tech also disclosed in the investor relations activity record that the company's undertaking of the 300Wh/kg high energy density major scientific and technological project of the Ministry of Science and Technology is currently progressing smoothly. It has developed a ternary 811 soft-pack battery cell with an energy density of 302Wh/kg. It has started to build a pilot line for related products and plans to start building a production line in 2019.

Tian Shuo, general manager of Beijing Keyi Power Technology Co., Ltd., analyzed that the company undertaking the major special power battery cell project of the Ministry of Science and Technology has its own reasons for choosing ternary soft packs. "To complete a 300Wh/kg battery cell, a soft pack is definitely much easier than a square shell."

Soft pack batteries have poor mechanical strength, and the requirements for teaming process and thermal management matching are high, which is challenging for the BMS design of vehicle companies. In addition, some core components are not yet domestically produced, but with the maturity of the industrial chain, the prospect of large-scale localization is also expected.

It is easier to make a satellite than to do practical things

Although major battery companies have their own main products, in terms of research and development, companies will have different degrees of involvement in the three different systems of square shells, cylinders and soft packs. No one will hang on a tree. Perhaps the market determines the type of products that companies are pushing at this stage, but in the long run, there will not be a single technical route.

In today's power battery industry, news such as capital injection and corporate mergers and acquisitions are emerging in an endless stream, and various battery concepts and laboratory breakthroughs are constantly emerging. News such as "Charging for 1 minute and driving 800km" frequently appears on the screen. It is foolish to talk about technology without considering commercialization. Each technical route has its own advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately, it is up to each company to do what it can, the market to choose, and the products to speak for themselves.

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