Technology status and planning of 102450 polymer battery companies (including LG Chem, SKI, Samsung SDI and CATL)

Current technology status of global 102450 polymer battery companies

1.1. Battery form: different forms, each with its own advantages

LG Chem and SKI: In terms of 102450 polymer battery packaging, both use laminated soft-pack design. The biggest difference between soft-pack lithium batteries and cylindrical and square batteries is the aluminum-plastic film, which is a key and technically difficult link for soft-pack lithium batteries. Soft-pack lithium batteries have many advantages, including good safety performance (soft-pack lithium batteries are structurally packaged with aluminum-plastic film. When safety problems occur, soft-pack lithium batteries will generally bulge and crack, but will not explode), light weight (soft-pack lithium batteries are 10%-20% lighter than aluminum-shell lithium batteries of the same capacity), low internal resistance, good cycle performance, flexible design (variable shape, thinner, customizable according to customer needs, and development of new battery cell models). The main disadvantages of soft-pack lithium batteries are poor consistency, high cost, easy leakage, and high technical threshold.

Samsung SDI and CATL: In terms of 102450 polymer battery packaging, square is the main type. Square hard shell batteries can produce large-capacity single cells. In addition, square battery shells are mostly made of aluminum alloy, stainless steel and other materials, and the internal winding or stacking process is used. The protection of the battery cell is better than that of soft-pack lithium batteries, and the safety of the battery cell has also been greatly improved relative to cylindrical batteries. The shortcomings of square batteries are that there are many models and it is difficult to unify the process. At present, the grouping efficiency of square batteries to modules can reach 88%, which is higher than the grouping efficiency of soft-pack and cylindrical batteries. In addition to producing square batteries, Samsung SDI also produces 18650 and 21700 cylindrical batteries, which are mainly used in the field of consumer batteries. Similarly, in addition to the main square battery cells, CATL also supplies soft-pack lithium batteries in small batches in 2018. CATL has many single-cell capacity specifications, mainly 37Ah, 43Ah, 51Ah, 72Ah, 148Ah, 153Ah, etc. Compared with Samsung SDI, CATL increases the cell capacity by increasing the thickness of the cell, thereby improving its energy density to a certain extent. However, CATL is slightly inferior to Samsung SDI in the manufacturing process of the cell and the lightweight module integration.

Panasonic 102450 polymer battery: It uses NCA positive electrode material. Due to the characteristics of NCA positive electrode material that it is easy to produce gas during the charging and discharging process, the cell packaging is mainly cylindrical. The advantages of cylindrical batteries are mainly mature production technology, high product yield, unified specifications such as 18650 and 21700, and overall cost advantages. However, the disadvantages of cylindrical batteries are also obvious. Due to the poor safety of NCA cylindrical batteries, they must be equipped with a very good thermal management system, the module and PACK integration are difficult, and the energy density utilization rate is low. In addition, in addition to supplying TSLA cylindrical batteries, Panasonic also supplies square batteries to other car companies, mainly supporting HV/PHV models. For HV/PHV models, it is mainly to break through high output power/high capacity, and for BEV models, it is to break through high energy density.

In general, among the three types of cells, the square cell is the least difficult in the module integration process. The module is also convenient for the layout and integration of the battery pack. The large-capacity cell is convenient for simplifying the complexity of the battery management system and is also easy to design the thermal management system of the battery pack.

1.2. Chemical system: high nickel ternary, the general trend

LG Chem: At present, the main chemical system of soft-pack power lithium batteries is NCM622 doped with LMO for the positive electrode, graphite for the negative electrode, and coated with a diaphragm. In the future, the positive electrode material will develop into the 712 system. The battery of the NCM811 system is mainly cylindrical and used in electric buses.

Samsung SDI: The current 102450 polymer battery is also mainly based on the chemical system of positive electrode NCM622 + graphite negative electrode, and also mass-produces NCA + LMO positive electrode materials. At present, Samsung SDI's single lithium battery product series is relatively complete. Standard products include high-energy BEV (pure electric) 60Ah, 94Ah batteries, PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) 26Ah, 37Ah batteries (26Ah will gradually be replaced by 37Ah), HEV (hybrid electric vehicle) 5.2Ah, 5.9Ah batteries, and high-power batteries (4.0Ah, 11Ah) combined with supercapacitors for low-voltage systems (LVS, low voltage system).

Panasonic Battery: Panasonic's current cylindrical 102450 polymer battery is mainly based on the chemical system of NCA + silicon-carbon negative electrode. According to A2Mac1's measured data, the Panasonic cylindrical battery model used by TSLA has gradually transitioned from 18650 for Model S and Model X to 21700 for Model 3. The ratio of NCA positive electrode materials has been upgraded from Ni: Co: Al = 0.82: 0.15: 0.03 to Ni: Co: Al = 0.9: 0.05: 0.05. The nickel content has been further improved, and the cobalt content has been reduced to 0.05%, which greatly reduces the raw material cost of the battery and is ahead of NCM's 811 chemical system.

SKI Battery: SKI's current soft-pack lithium battery positive electrode material is mainly NCM622. It should develop into a NCM811 mixed system in 2019 and a 100% NCM811 system in 2020. The Ni content is expected to reach 90% after 2021. Graphite is currently used as the negative electrode material, and silicon-carbon negative electrode is expected to be used after 2021.

CATL: Currently, CATL's square battery positive electrode material is mainly NCM523, which should be developed into NCM811 system in 2019. The negative electrode material currently mainly uses graphite, and it is expected to use silicon-carbon negative electrode after 2020.

1.3. Group efficiency: square is the best, cylindrical is the most difficult

LG Chem and SKI: Although the single energy density of soft-pack lithium batteries is higher than that of square cells, the group efficiency is lower. The current energy density conversion rate is expected to be around 80%.

Samsung SDI and CATL: The battery cell adopts the square cell form, the group efficiency is higher, and the highest energy density conversion efficiency from battery cell to module can be as high as 90%.

Panasonic battery: The single cell energy density is high, but due to the large number of single cells, many structural auxiliary parts are required, the system integration is difficult, and the integration efficiency of battery cell to module and battery pack is low. 18650 is upgraded to 21700, the number of single cells used is reduced, and the integration efficiency is improved to a certain extent. TSLA Model 3 has two specifications of modules, and the energy density conversion efficiency is as high as 84%. The battery pack of Model X (90kWh version) consists of 7104 cells 96S74P, with an energy density of 148.4Wh/kg and an integrated efficiency of 60.41%; the battery pack of Model 3 consists of 4416 cells, with an energy density of 167Wh/kg and an integrated efficiency of 64.2%.

1.4. Energy density: Panasonic leads, Samsung is slower

LG Chem: The cell energy density is about 250Wh/kg, and the volume energy density is about 530Wh/L, which can meet the vehicle's 400km range requirement.

Samsung SDI: In terms of improving energy density, the standard used is Wh/L, which is different from the domestic standard of Wh/kg. Samsung believes that Wh/L is more important for passenger cars. At present, the energy density of Samsung's third-generation 102450 polymer battery is 550Wh/L, equivalent to 210-230Wh/kg, and has been mass-produced.

Panasonic: According to the measured data of A2Mac1, in terms of single cell capacity, Panasonic has increased from 3.2Ah of NCR18650B model to 4.8Ah of 21700NCA model, and the voltage platform has increased from 3.6V to 3.7V. With the increase of single cell capacity and single cell voltage, the energy density has increased from 245.1Wh/kg of NCR18650B to 260Wh/kg of 21700NCA, and can be increased to 300Wh/kg in the future. In terms of volume energy density, 21700 is much higher than 18650. It is calculated that the volume energy density of Panasonic's 21700 battery cell is as high as 732Wh/L.

SKI: The energy density of the 64Ah soft-pack battery cell mass-produced in 2018 can reach 260Wh/kg, and the volume energy density can reach 540Wh/L.

CATL: The energy density of the 153Ah battery cell currently in mass production can reach 217Wh/kg, and the volume energy density can reach 510Wh/L.

1.5. Cycle life: The life of cylindrical batteries is lower than that of soft-pack square batteries

LG Chem has a good cycle life of up to 2,000 cycles, Samsung SDI's 102450 polymer battery cycle life can reach 1,500 times, and Panasonic's 18650 battery cell cycle life is about 500-1,000 times.

CATL's 523 system 102450 polymer battery cell cycle life can reach 1,800 times, which is close to the life indicators of Korean companies. The battery cycle life of Japan is significantly lower.

With similar technologies at home and abroad, CATL is not afraid of competition: A comprehensive comparison of the power lithium batteries of LG Chem, Samsung SDI, Panasonic, SKI, and CATL is conducted from five dimensions, including battery form, chemical system, group efficiency, energy density, and cycle life. CATL uses the positive electrode material of the NCM523 system to make products with energy density similar to that of Samsung SDI. Some products are even higher than Samsung SDI, and the cycle life also has certain competitive advantages. Considering the group efficiency of battery cells to modules, CATL and LG Chem, SKI, and Panasonic have strong technical competitiveness at the module level.

2. Future technology planning of global 102450 polymer battery companies

2.1. Development path of battery technology

LG Chem: LG battery cells are still in soft-pack form, and the length will be considered to be extended according to the needs of the whole vehicle. There are two important benefits: supplying the energy density conversion rate of battery cells to modules and improving energy density (an increase of about 13%). The module form adopts VDA module and long module form, minus the heat dissipation aluminum plate and adopts soft-package edge thermal conductive glue form to improve heat dissipation performance, simplify module structure, improve energy density conversion rate from battery cell to module, and improve module energy density. From 2020 to 2022, the single cell energy density will reach 300Wh/kg, and the volume energy density will reach 700Wh/L, which can meet the 500km range requirement of the whole vehicle. From 2023 to 2024, the energy density will reach 330Wh/kg, which can meet the 600km range requirement of the whole vehicle.

Samsung SDI: The energy density of the next generation 3.5 product can reach 630Wh/L, and it is expected to be mass-produced in 2019. At the same time, Samsung is also stepping up its efforts to develop the fourth-generation battery, which can reach an energy density of 700Wh/L, equivalent to 270-280Wh/kg. It is expected to be mass-produced around 2021-2022. After that, the fifth-generation battery will reach 800Wh/L, equivalent to 300Wh/kg. This product will be mass-produced after 2023. 300Wh/kg is already the energy density limit of lithium battery energy storage. It will be further improved through battery innovation in 2023-2025. At present, Samsung is also doing basic research and development of new batteries. Samples can be made, but it is still far from industrial mass production: in 2015, Samsung SDI's all-solid-state battery trial samples can reach 300Wh/kg (using sulfide solid electrolytes). As for lithium metal batteries and lithium-air batteries, Samsung SDI is currently only developing them in the laboratory. It may take 10 years for them to be truly applied. By then, the energy density is expected to reach 900Wh/kg, and the goal of driving 700km on a single charge can be achieved.

Panasonic: Panasonic's future development direction of power lithium batteries is mainly divided into two categories. Square batteries are mainly used in the HV and PHEV fields with high power output, and cylindrical batteries are mainly used in the EV field with high energy density. And by further optimizing the nickel-cobalt content ratio, new materials that continue to lead the high energy density advantage will be developed. Develop new structural battery cells to improve their safety and capacity.

SKI: SKI's positive electrode material system will be upgraded from NCM622 to NCM811-doped NCM622 system in 2019, and the negative electrode material will be upgraded from graphite to silicon-carbon negative electrode in 2021-2022. Product specifications will include 63Ah, 70Ah, 75Ah, 80Ah, 86Ah, 90Ah, etc. The service life will be guaranteed to be 10 years and 240,000 kilometers, and the fast charging will meet the 100km range requirement in 10 minutes. The energy density target for 2020 is 284Wh/kg, the energy density target for 2021 is 294Wh/kg, and the energy density is expected to reach 314Wh/kg in 2022. With the use of silicon-carbon negative electrodes, the energy density will reach 319Wh/kg in 2023.

CATL: The future technological development trend of CATL can be analyzed from several aspects, including material system, battery cell, module, and PACK.

In terms of material system: CATL's current main positive electrode material is NCM523, and it is expected to mass-produce NCM811 system batteries by the end of 2019. In addition to the development of high-nickel positive electrode materials, CATL has been committed to the research and development of positive electrode materials for high-voltage platforms, and is expected to mass-produce and improve the energy density of battery cells after 2020; at the same time, around 2020, CATL will use silicon-carbon negative electrode materials to increase the theoretical energy density of the negative electrode and thus increase the energy density of the battery cell; the electrolyte optimizes the formula and adds new additives to make it more resistant to high voltage and thermally stable; the diaphragm mainly adopts coated wet diaphragm.

In terms of battery cells: CATL currently increases the capacity of single battery cells to 153Ah by thickening the size of battery cells, significantly improving the energy density of single cells. The future development direction may be to reduce the height from the current 108mm to less than 100mm, which is conducive to the design of flat battery PACK, better facilitates the design of the chassis of the whole vehicle, and enhances the space experience inside the vehicle body. In addition, CATL has a deep accumulation in fast-charging cells. At present, 43Ah ternary fast-charging products have been mass-produced, with a maximum charging rate of 4C, that is, the fastest charging time can be 25 minutes. After the cost is improved, the pain point of slow charging speed of electric vehicles will be completely solved. The energy density of the battery cell will reach 230Wh/kg in 2019, and the energy density of the battery cell will reach 265Wh/kg in 2020-2021.

In terms of modules: In order to facilitate the integration of battery packs PACK, CATL will launch Combo modules, Sandwich modules and low-height modules in addition to standard modules in the future, and the energy density and conversion rate will be significantly improved. The integration efficiency will increase from 83% in 2018 to 86% in 2019, 89%-90% in 2020, and 91%-92% in 2021-2022.

PACK: CATL's 2018 battery PACK energy density is 150-160Wh/kg, 180Wh/kg in 2019-2020, and 210Wh/kg after 2021. The cooling system adopts water cooling, and the cooling plate is in the form of harmonica tube.In 2019, it will be integrated with the battery pack tray to improve the integration efficiency. The integration efficiency was about 72% in 2018, and is expected to increase to 76% in 2019 and reach the target of 80% in 2021.

2.2. Development trend of material system

LG Chem will achieve 70% nickel, 10% cobalt and 20% manganese from 622 to 712 in the future. NCMA is a medium- and long-term goal of LG. By adding alumina to NCM, the nickel content is close to 90% and the cobalt content is less than 10%. The current situation is that the 622 soft pack battery cell is in mass production, and the 712 type is being actively developed and will be mass-produced within two to three years. NCM811 positive electrode material is more suitable for cylindrical batteries and will be mass-produced for electric buses. The important development direction of the third-generation battery is to increase energy density (increase nickel content), reduce costs (reduce cobalt content) and improve charging performance (introduce artificial graphite negative electrode).

Samsung SDI will use NCA materials in the future, because lithium ions are prone to form some residues on the surface of NCA during the repeated use process, which will affect its service life. Samsung SDI reduces the residue and increases its service life by coating the surface of NCA with a layer of metal.

Panasonic has developed positive electrode materials such as lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide and lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide, which have been applied on a large scale. In order to solve the problems of low thermal stability and safety caused by nickel oxide, Panasonic has carried out nano-coating treatment on the surface of positive electrode materials, and pays special attention to improving safety through technologies such as "Panasonic Solid Solution" (PSS), which uses "heat-resistant layer" (HRL) technology in the new positive electrode.

SKI's current soft-pack lithium battery positive electrode materials are mainly NCM622, which should develop into a NCM811 mixed system in 2019 and a 100% NCM811 system in 2020. It is expected that the Ni content will reach 90% after 2021. The negative electrode material currently uses graphite, and it is expected to use silicon-carbon negative electrode after 2021.

CATL's current positive electrode material is mainly NCM523, and it is expected to mass-produce NCM811 system batteries by the end of 2019. In addition to the development of high-nickel positive electrode materials, CATL has been committed to the research and development of positive electrode materials for high-voltage platforms, and is expected to mass-produce and improve the energy density of batteries after 2020; at the same time, around 2020, CATL will use silicon-carbon negative electrode materials to increase the theoretical energy density of the negative electrode and thus the energy density of the battery; the electrolyte optimizes the formula and adds new additives to make it more resistant to high voltage and thermally stable; the diaphragm mainly adopts the coated wet diaphragm.

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