What are the restrictions on foreign 1.2V NiMH battery technology and resources?

With the outbreak of the YYW-US trade war, the United States has taken measures to impose punitive tariffs on some Chinese companies, and the import and export of some Chinese high-tech companies have been affected. In this trade war, many Chinese companies have exposed the problems of lack of core technology and weak R&D capabilities, which have a very large impact on the future development of my country's high-tech industry.

As a clean, efficient and economical energy storage product, lithium batteries have been widely used in digital products such as mobile phones, tablets, and notebooks in the past decade. In recent years, new energy vehicles have begun to be promoted on a large scale. Enterprises have focused on the research and development and production of power batteries. The upstream and downstream of the 1.2V NiMH battery industry chain have become more complete, and the output of power batteries accounts for more than half of the world. Under the background of the rapid development of the 1.2V NiMH battery industry, domestic companies are also facing many problems that they have not mastered core technologies.

The core technology of lithium batteries mainly involves raw materials, battery cells, equipment, battery packs and other aspects, which play a decisive role in the performance and cost of batteries. Although my country's 1.2V NiMH battery industry chain is relatively complete, it is still restricted by foreign technology or resources in terms of diaphragms, PVDF, water-based adhesives, aluminum-plastic films, NCA, automation equipment, cobalt mines, etc.

1. Diaphragm materials

The dry process is relatively mature, but there is still a gap between high-end wet-process diaphragms and foreign countries. The raw materials PE and production equipment of the diaphragm are heavily dependent on imports. As one of the key materials for lithium batteries, the diaphragm must not only prevent contact between the positive and negative electrodes, but also ensure that electrolyte ions can pass through. This puts high demands on the thickness, porosity, air permeability resistance, internal resistance, puncture strength, mechanical strength, pore size, consistency, etc. of the diaphragm. Domestic diaphragms started late, and the technical maturity of domestic enterprises is not high. Although the localization rate has increased in recent years, especially in the dry-process diaphragm, it has been greatly improved, but it is restricted by the process, technology and production equipment in the wet process. At present, some domestic wet-process equipment companies such as Jinhui Hi-Tech and Cangzhou Mingzhu have adopted their own assembly equipment, but in order to ensure the consistency, pore uniformity, wettability and other properties of the products, most domestic diaphragm companies still use Japanese and Korean equipment such as master, Bruckner, Toshiba, JSW, and KOBELCO. In addition, PE materials as the main material have high requirements for purity and stability. The supply of PE materials for domestic diaphragm companies is basically monopolized by several companies such as Japan's Mitsui and Korea Petrochemical. The purity of domestic polyethylene products does not meet the requirements. They are rarely used in high-end products and are mostly used in some low-end products.

2. PVDF coating of diaphragm

At present, the PVDF coating of domestic power battery diaphragms mainly relies on imports. Only some companies use domestic PVDF, but the stability and material of domestic PVDF are poor. PVDF, also known as polyvinylidene fluoride, has a melting point of 172℃, a heat deformation temperature of 112~145℃, and a long-term use temperature of -40~150℃. It is used in the coating of diaphragms, so that the diaphragm can be closely combined with the electrode. Due to the support of the electrode plate, the thermal shrinkage of the diaphragm is enhanced, and at the same time, it can also reduce the free electrolyte and improve the safety of the battery. Foreign PVDF products are mainly reflected in their stability and high quality, including Akma and Solvay, which can be produced on a large scale, while domestic production is small in scale and low in efficiency.

3. Water-based binders

The high-end water-based binder market is basically monopolized by Japanese companies such as Zeon, JSR, and Sojitz, and there is only one domestic company, Zhongkelaifang. Water-based binders are mainly used in positive and negative electrode binders and diaphragm coatings, especially in high-nickel ternary products, which put forward higher requirements for binders. Japanese companies have been engaged in the research and development and layout of water-based binders for more than ten years, and their technology and industrial supporting facilities in this regard are very mature. The domestic binder industry started late, and the supporting raw materials and production equipment rely on imports. The quality and purity of Chinese raw materials are far behind those of Japanese and Korean companies.

4. Aluminum-plastic film technology

Soft-pack aluminum-plastic film is heavily dependent on imports. Only some companies can produce it, but its performance is not recognized by the industry. As a type of power battery, soft-pack power battery has the characteristics of high energy density, low internal resistance, and good cycle performance. It has great advantages in the application of new energy vehicles, and its market share will continue to grow. As the outer packaging material of soft-pack batteries, aluminum-plastic film has very high requirements in thickness, barrier properties, and electrolyte resistance stability. There is a big gap between the performance of domestic aluminum-plastic film products and foreign products, mainly reflected in the fact that it is difficult to reach the level of Japanese and Korean companies in terms of punching depth and precision control. At present, the supply of domestic aluminum-plastic film is basically monopolized by Japanese companies such as Showa Denko and DNP. Although some domestic manufacturers, including Zijiang Color Printing, Zhongjin Matai, Fosu Technology and other companies have begun the research and development and manufacturing of aluminum-plastic film, the performance of domestic aluminum-plastic film has not been recognized by domestic battery companies in the short term, and most of them are still mainly imported. In terms of equipment, key equipment such as cast film machines and extruders rely on imports, which are subject to relatively large restrictions when expanding production.

5. NCA technology

China's NCA battery industrialization lags behind, and key NCA materials are mainly concentrated in the hands of Japanese companies. In 2018, ternary batteries have become the most concerned area in the power battery industry. Domestic ternary batteries mainly adopt the NCM technology route, and there is basically no major breakthrough in NCA. NCA has the characteristics of high energy density, good rate characteristics, and good low-temperature performance. It is one of the most promising high-energy density 1.2V NiMH battery positive electrode materials. Japanese and Korean companies have developed electric vehicles, batteries, NCA positive electrode materials, and precursors earlier, with more mature and advanced technologies, and have formed a mutually supporting industrial chain and a relatively stable and mature supply chain between upstream and downstream. At present, the NCA market is basically monopolized by Nippon Chemical, Sumitomo and Toda. Driven by the TESLA effect, some domestic companies have begun to lay out NCA, but the output is relatively small. Except for the NCA precursor, there is a certain gap in other parts.

6. Automation equipment

High-end automation equipment, especially cylindrical battery equipment, is heavily dependent on imports. With the continuous expansion of the production capacity of 1.2V NiMH battery companies, the demand for 1.2V NiMH battery equipment is growing. However, due to the large number of 1.2V NiMH battery equipment processes and categories, excessive concentration of companies, and serious product homogeneity, there is still a certain gap between the stability, manufacturing process and digital control of domestic equipment and foreign companies. Especially in the field of cylindrical battery production, which relies more on imports, domestic equipment is difficult to meet the requirements in terms of precision and automation.

7. Cobalt Ore

China's cobalt ore reserves are low and are severely restricted by foreign countries. Cobalt, as an indispensable element in ternary materials, has a great impact on the cost of ternary materials. At present, the world's cobalt mines are mainly distributed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Australia, Cuba, Zambia and the Philippines. The reserves of these countries account for more than 80% of the world's cobalt reserves, while the reserves of cobalt mines in China are very low, with cobalt reserves of only 80,000 tons, accounting for 1% of the world's cobalt reserves. The shortage of cobalt mines, coupled with the rapid growth of domestic demand for ternary materials, has pushed the price of cobalt from 200,000 yuan/ton to 500,000 yuan/ton, which has increased the cost of power batteries and increased the risks of enterprises.

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