Analysis: High-end separator technology for 1.2V Ni-MH battery urgently needs a breakthrough

　　Currently, the trade war initiated by the United States and aimed at "Made in China 2025" continues to ferment, and the "ZTE incident" has caused strong shock in the industry. Recently, the United States seems to be targeting global communications equipment giant Huawei again, once again touching the pain point of China's manufacturing industry lacking core technologies. In the fierce trade war, the United States is pressing forward step by step and firing on multiple fronts. my country's power lithium battery industry must also beware of similar risks.

　　According to Battery China.com, there are currently more than 200 power battery manufacturers in my country, making it the country with the most power battery companies in the world. According to data, Chinese companies accounted for 7 of the top 10 companies in terms of global power battery sales in 2017. According to Forbes News, China is expected to account for more than 70% of the global battery market by 2020.

　　Although my country has formed a relatively complete power battery industry chain, and the scale is "big" enough, it is not "strong" enough. Some key core technologies are still controlled by others, and there is a risk of ZTE-style "stuck".

　　Among them, lithium battery separator technology is currently a pain point in my country's power battery industry. Among lithium-ion battery materials, positive and negative electrode materials and electrolytes are basically domestically produced, while separators started late, and the technological maturity of domestic companies is not high. Although the localization rate of my country's lithium battery separators has been increasing in recent years, it mainly occupies the low-end 3C battery separator market. The localization rate of high-end separators is still very low. High-end 3C batteries and power battery separators still rely heavily on imports. .

　　According to the "Energy-Saving and New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2011-2020)" issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, by 2020, my country's production capacity of pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles will reach 2 million units per year. Based on this estimate, my country's annual demand for high-quality vehicle power battery separator materials will reach hundreds of millions of square meters in the future.

　　As we all know, in the structure of lithium batteries, the separator is one of the key inner components. It not only prevents the positive and negative electrodes from contacting, but also ensures the passage of electrolyte ions. Therefore, the quality of the separator will directly affect the capacity, cycle, safety performance and other characteristics of the battery. Excellent quality separators play an important role in improving the overall performance of the battery.

　　It is reported that separators are a high value-added material with the highest technical barriers among lithium battery materials, accounting for about 15% of the cost of lithium batteries. The technical difficulties lie in the engineering technology of pore creation, matrix materials, and manufacturing equipment.

　　A common problem with domestic separators is low consistency, which is mainly manifested in irregular defects, substandard porosity, uneven thickness, pore distribution, and pore size distribution. The porosity and pore size distribution of uniaxially stretched domestic PP separators are relatively close to foreign products; the porosity of bidirectional step-stretched PE separators is usually lower than that of foreign products, and the pore size distribution is not ideal. These problems are all potential risks for the industry to be "controlled by others". If not solved well, they may curb the healthy development of my country's lithium battery industry.

　　According to Battery China.com, the PP separator of Celgard Separator Co., Ltd. and the PE separator of Asahi respectively represent the highest level of products in the separator industry. Since Asahi acquired Celgard in 2016, the best separator products have come from Asahi. Several other Japanese companies, such as UBE and Toray, also have high levels. There is a huge gap between my country and the United States, Japan and other countries in terms of PP separator and PE separator technology, and it is in a passive position in the industrial chain.

　　At present, the preparation methods of lithium-ion battery separators are mainly divided into wet methods and dry methods. my country's lithium-ion battery separators have made major breakthroughs in the dry process. However, in the field of wet separators, domestic separator companies are limited by many factors such as process and technology. The product level is still low, and production equipment relies heavily on imports.

　　Like chips, high-end diaphragm technology has a very high threshold. It not only requires huge investments, but also requires a strong R&D and production team, sophisticated process technology and high-level production lines, and it will not be possible to break through in a short time. However, the YYW-US trade war and the ZTE and Huawei incident have sounded the alarm for my country's manufacturing industry. For the entire power battery industry, it is urgent to break through the high-end separator technology of lithium batteries as soon as possible.

　　Fortunately, domestic companies such as Zhongke Technology and Xingyuan Materials have made major breakthroughs in high-end diaphragm technology. It is believed that in the near future, my country's power lithium battery industry will be able to break the foreign technology monopoly and take the initiative into its own hands.

　　Only by holding the long tassel in hand can the blue dragon be captured and bound. Especially when my country's manufacturing industry encounters "headwinds" in the international economy, only by mastering core technologies can we not be controlled by others, avoid a "ZTE-style" crisis, and become a true "market king"!

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