It has become a new trend! Why are more and more car companies keen on developing their own batterie

2024-01-03

A few days ago, NIO CEO Li Bin conducted a live test of the battery life of a brand new 150kWh battery pack, which sparked a heated discussion among netizens on the internet and even made it a hot topic on Weibo.

In this test, Li Bin drove an ET7 equipped with a 150kWh battery pack. Starting from around 6am, after 14 hours and 01 minutes, with 3% remaining on the battery, the driving distance reached 1044 kilometers.

It is reported that this brand new 150kWh battery pack is a semi-solid state battery developed by NIODay. It was released in 2021 and has an energy density of 360Wh/kg, far exceeding the current industry leader Ningde Times Kirin battery's 255Wh/kg. It is currently the product with the highest energy density and charge among the mass-produced power battery packs in China. Meanwhile, the volume of this battery pack is comparable to NIO's existing battery pack and can still support battery swapping.

In fact, not only NIO, but also many car companies such as GAC Aion and Jike have recently released their self-developed battery technology to the public. Why are car companies so enthusiastic about self-developed batteries, even though self-developed batteries consume a lot of energy and cost a lot, and there are also mature power battery suppliers like CATL in China?

Multiple car companies release self-developed battery technology

On December 14th, Jike released its self-developed 800V ultra fast charging battery gold brick battery. The official emphasized that the battery was self-developed from the battery cell to the battery pack, and claimed that it was the fastest mass-produced lithium iron phosphate battery in the world for charging speed.

In terms of performance, the BRICS battery has a maximum charging power of 500kw and a maximum charging rate of 4.5C, claiming to increase its range by over 500 kilometers after 15 minutes of charging. Meanwhile, the low-temperature performance of the battery is also quite outstanding, with a 25% increase in fast charging speed in a -10 ° C low-temperature environment.

In August of this year, Ningde Times released the world's first lithium iron phosphate 4C rechargeable battery - Shenxing Supercharged Battery. The official stated that it can achieve a 10 minute charging time and increase the range by 400 kilometers. In terms of charging speed, Jike's "golden brick battery" has surpassed Shenxing's overcharged battery.

In terms of battery safety, BRICS batteries are equipped with multiple technologies such as real-time prevention and control, millisecond power outage, and active cooling. They have also passed the overpressure needle puncture test, with a compression force of 1.5 times the national standard, allowing the battery to achieve a compression deformation of over 30%. A 5mm steel needle is used for needle puncture penetration, and the entire process of the battery cell does not ignite or explode. Extreme Krypton officially stated that the BRICS battery is the safest mass-produced lithium iron phosphate battery in the world.

According to official sources, the BRICS battery will first be installed on the upcoming release of the Geely Krypton 007 on December 27th, and delivery will begin on New Year's Day. Compared to the Ningde Times Shenxing Supercharged Battery, which was launched in the first quarter of 2024, Jike's gold brick battery has once again taken the lead.

On December 12th, the intelligent ecological factory of Inpai Battery, a subsidiary of GAC Aion, was officially completed and put into operation, and the self-developed P58 microcrystalline super energy battery was also released.

This battery can provide a range of over 700km, and its safety has also been greatly improved. Its pressure resistance exceeds 1200kN, and its deformation tolerance reaches 45%. The official statement is that it can achieve a complete battery pack without firing during gunfire. This battery will be gradually applied to Haobo and Aian brand car models in the future.

In addition, earlier, GAC Aion also announced to the public that it would be the first to achieve mass production and installation of self-developed solid-state batteries under the Haobo brand in 2026. This battery has an energy density of over 400Wh/Kg, as well as outstanding advantages such as high safety and wide temperature range operation.

At the Guangzhou Auto Show, Changan Automobile released its self-developed battery brand "Golden Bell Cover" and announced its plans for self-developed batteries. Among them, self-developed solid-state batteries will gradually start mass production and application in 2025, and are expected to be fully popularized by 2030. In addition, Changan Automobile plans to launch eight self-developed battery cells, including liquid, semi-solid, and solid, by 2030.

It is reported that Changan Automobile has established a specialized battery research institute with more than 1200 battery research and development personnel. In the future, it will invest an additional 10 billion yuan, and the battery team will reach 3000 by 2024.

The participation of automotive companies in self-developed batteries has become a new trend

For car companies, one important reason for self-developed batteries is cost.

Unlike traditional fuel vehicles, power batteries are one of the most important components of new energy vehicles, accounting for over 40% or even more than 50% of a pure electric vehicle.

Extreme Krypton CEO An Conghui stated at its self-developed BRICS battery launch event that power batteries are one of the most expensive components of new energy vehicles. Friendly suppliers have a high cost of purchasing batteries, and they also need to offer a "sufficiently lethal price" on the entire vehicle, so other configurations may be discounted.

Especially in the fiercely competitive new energy vehicle market, in order to break free from the cycle of "selling more and losing more", costs must be reduced in order to achieve profitability.

As the penetration rate of new energy continues to increase, the sales of new energy vehicles by various car companies are also soaring. Although there is a large initial investment, once economies of scale are formed, the cost reduction will be considerable. Which car company does not envy BYD's vertical integration ability in the new energy industry chain.

Secondly, by expanding into the battery industry, car companies can also enhance their discourse power in the industry chain and break free from supply chain restrictions. The shortage of chips during the epidemic is still vivid in the minds of car companies. For such an important power battery, car companies naturally hope to ensure supply safety and do not want to be constrained by supply chain enterprises in the future, firmly grasping supply safety in their own hands.

Of course, in addition to cost and supply chain factors, self-developed batteries by car companies can also create differentiation in technology, avoiding excessive homogenization with other competing car series in such important components, and also showcasing their technical capabilities.

For example, NIO's battery swapping technology is its biggest moat. In addition to being favored by NIO car owners, it has also signed battery swapping service cooperation agreements with Geely and Changan, and its long-term commitment to battery swapping business has been recognized by the industry.

BYD is even more so, as the time it takes to build batteries is longer than the time it takes to build cars. The self-developed blade batteries have greatly boosted the sales of its new energy vehicles, and the cumulative sales this year are likely to exceed the milestone of 3 million vehicles.

As the competition in China's new energy vehicle market gradually intensifies, power batteries also need to gradually break away from standardization. It is believed that more car companies will participate in the self-development of batteries in the future.

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