Super long battery life, extremely fast charging, will my country's power R6 Carbon battery achieve "overtaking"?

In the era of traditional fuel vehicles, domestic auto brands fell behind because they could not master core technologies such as engines; in the era of new energy vehicles, domestic brands no longer compete on the coolness of technological concepts, but hope to gain a higher voice in core technologies, such as breakthroughs in power lithium-ion batteries, to surpass foreign brands. All-media reporters noticed that in 2021, many Chinese automakers, including traditional automakers and new car-making forces, have officially announced the arrival of stronger technologies - up to 1,000km comprehensive battery life, 200,000 kilometers of zero attenuation, 8 minutes of fast charging, 11KW high-power wireless charging, electric vehicles entering the era of monthly charging... These top power lithium-ion battery technologies "came out of nowhere", gradually confirming Musk's words "Tesla's strongest opponent comes from my country". However, after the cheers in the industry, experts called for a more calm thinking about a problem at present: for domestic pure electric vehicles, achieving balanced performance development and stability in all aspects is the most difficult technological breakthrough.

Really fragrant!

1000km range electric cars are here

While many new energy vehicle companies are still working hard to break through 600km for their products, before January 2021 is over, many companies such as NIO, SAIC, and GAC have announced product routes with 1000km range. On January 9, NIO revealed that it will launch a 150kWh solid-state battery in 2022, which will not only be installed on the NIO ET7, but also on "old cars" such as ES8, and the range will exceed 1000 kilometers; on January 13, Zhiji Auto, a joint venture between SAIC and Alibaba, officially announced that it will cooperate with CATL to launch silicon-doped lithium-ion batteries, with a maximum range of more than 1000 kilometers and 200,000 kilometers of zero attenuation; subsequently, GAC Aion also officially announced that it will launch graphene-based fast-charging batteries and electric vehicles with a range of 1000 kilometers by the end of 2021. A revolution in power lithium-ion batteries with long range, fast charging, and wireless charging kicked off in 2021.

The three automakers all use different battery technologies, and it is difficult to determine which one is better. But from a technical point of view, they are all relatively advanced. A power lithium-ion battery engineer from Shenzhen told reporters that GAC Aion's "graphene" improves charging efficiency and does not affect battery life, while "silicon negative electrode" is a corresponding method to improve battery life; the key point of SAIC Zhiji's silicon-doped lithium-supplemented battery cell technology is to improve energy density; NIO announced that it will use semi-solid and silicon negative electrodes to improve battery life. It is worth noting that whether it is GAC Aion's "graphene conductivity", SAIC Zhiji's "silicon-doped lithium-supplemented", or even NIO's non-full solid-state battery, they are all based on existing technologies to improve the charging efficiency and energy storage efficiency of power lithium-ion batteries.

The reporter noticed that Musk also released the rumor in November last year that "Tesla is developing a long-distance version of electric vehicles with a battery life of 1,000 kilometers and producing them in Germany." The actions of the above automakers all reveal a message: the long battery life of pure electric vehicles will "kill" traditional fuel vehicles.

There are difficulties!

There are technical barriers to achieving all-round balance

Electric vehicles with a range of up to 1,000 km are about to be mass-produced. Consumers are looking forward to it, while the industry is more concerned about safety and practicality. Is the price cheap? Is it really so easy to achieve large-scale mass production? In this regard, Ouyang Minggao, vice chairman of the my country Electric Vehicle Hundred People's Association and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, affirmed the current technological development of domestic new energy vehicles at the my country Electric Vehicle Hundred People's Association (2021) Forum, but also issued a warning.

Ouyang Minggao said that although there have been no major breakthroughs in battery material innovation in the industry in recent years, with the joint efforts of my country's vehicle companies and battery companies, important innovations in battery system structure are still emerging (including CATL's "module-free" and BYD's "blade battery"), coupled with the use of lithium supplements, silicon additions, and the use of solid-liquid mixed electrolytes, my country's power lithium-ion battery level has achieved the advantage of leading the world trend. He said: "At present, 1,000 kilometers (range) is completely achievable, and (the company) is also moving towards this goal, although (1,000 kilometers range) is not our goal."

He also pointed out that the current energy density of ternary square batteries can reach 300Wh/kg, and soft-pack batteries using solid-liquid mixed electrolytes can reach 360Wh/kg, and lithium iron phosphate lithium-ion batteries can also exceed 200Wh/kg after adding lithium and silicon. This is not based on increasing the specific energy of single cells, but on increasing the specific energy and efficiency of the system to increase the range, and there is still great potential.

At the same time, Ouyang Minggao also pointed out that to achieve the conditions of "being able to run a thousand kilometers, being able to charge in a few minutes, being particularly safe, and having very low costs", "under current technical conditions, it is impossible to achieve them all at the same time." The reporter noticed that Ouyang Minggao pointed out the "hurdles" that still exist when independent brands are making further breakthroughs in core battery technology.

Many experts who participated in the my country Electric Vehicle Hundred People's Forum said that although some companies have achieved technological breakthroughs, the current BEV power lithium-ion battery performance needs to be balanced, and this technical threshold still exists for many car companies. Especially under the current technology, accelerating the popularization of new energy vehicles and improving winter endurance and safety are the top priorities of the industry.

Not cheap!

High-end models are "exclusive", and popularization still needs time

Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, also "confirmed" the relevant technology at the Electric Vehicle Hundred People's Forum (2021) Cloud Forum. He said that "BEV battery packs can achieve a range of more than 1,000 kilometers." Obviously, the industry has generally recognized that there have been breakthroughs in technologies such as achieving a 1,000km range battery pack and achieving super fast charging, but to achieve large-scale mass production and popularization, costs must be reduced first, which is the most difficult test for domestic car companies.

Some industry experts pointed out that since the birth of the 811 battery, the energy density of ternary lithium-ion batteries has reached a bottleneck. From the perspective of technological development and consumer demand, the comprehensive range of most pure electric vehicles on the market in the next few years can only be at the level of 600 kilometers. Technologies that can achieve longer range will only appear in some high-end models. "The technology that can charge 80% of the battery in 8 minutes and last for 1,000 kilometers is not "disruptive." Chen Qingquan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told reporters that it is rare for such batteries to be mass-produced with a market-acceptable cost-effectiveness, and the challenge is still great.

This is indeed the case. Zeng Qinghong, secretary of the Party Committee and chairman of GAC Group, revealed at the my country Electric Vehicle Hundred People's Forum (2021) that the first AIONV equipped with GAC's graphene-based super-fast charging battery has entered the actual vehicle testing stage and is initially scheduled for mass production in September this year. However, GAC further added that graphene-based super-fast charging batteries and 1,000km long-range silicon negative electrode batteries are two different technologies, which are expected to be installed on AIONV and AIONLX models respectively this year. Moreover, these top technologies will appear on high-end models, and the price is not expected to be cheap.

The reporter noticed that the delivery time of NIO and Zhiji Auto is similar. The upcoming NIO ET7, which is equipped with a 150kWh solid-state battery and can achieve a range of 1,000km, will be the most expensive of the announced ET7 models, priced at more than 500,000 yuan; Zhiji's first-launched sedans and SUVs will only have the highest-end models that can achieve 1,000km in the future. Overall, even if it is mass-produced, the initial price is relatively high.

Of course, it is just around the corner for the 1,000km range battery to achieve a preferential price and widespread popularization. The reporter noticed that the industry has already determined the next-generation technology route for power lithium-ion batteries, namely solid-state batteries. Previously, the industry conservatively estimated that the industrialization of solid-state batteries is expected to take another 5 to 10 years.

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