Financial Services Association, April 30 (Reporter Xu Hao) In China's NEV market, which is facing pressure from homogenized competition, the industry is actively looking for ways to create differentiated highlights for models. In this context, solid-state and semi-solid-state batteries have become a “gripper” for consumers and a hot topic of capital market attention.

On April 29, NIO Auto announced the price of a flexible upgraded daily rental service for the 150 kWh ultra-long battery life battery pack. Users can upgrade the 70/75kWh standard battery pack to a 150kWh ultra-long battery life battery pack. The standard daily rental price is 150 yuan/day; while the price of the 100kWh long-life battery pack upgrade is 100 yuan/day. The battery pack will be officially put into operation on June 1, and is expected to achieve a maximum range of more than 1000 km.

Although NIO has not directly confirmed that this battery pack is a semi-solid state battery, according to information previously released, the 150 kWh battery pack is a semi-solid state battery pack jointly developed by Weilan New Energy and NIO. “All-solid-state batteries require a process from materials to materials and equipment, to stable mass production of materials, to battery companies continuously optimizing material formulations to battery trial production.” In an interview with a reporter from the Financial Federation, some industry insiders said that before all-solid-state batteries were finally commercialized, semi-solid-state batteries with higher energy density and longer battery life had gradually become an industry trend.

Testing the waters for commercial semi-solid state batteries

According to previously public information, the energy density of NIO's 150 kWh battery pack is as high as 360 kWh/kg, and the battery pack density is 260 Wh/kg. In terms of materials, the cathode uses an ultra-high nickel cathode material, which uses nanoscale packaging technology to improve the interface between the material and the electrolyte; the anode uses a silicon-carbon composite anode material. The innovative homogenous coating and inorganic pre-lithium process greatly increases the energy density.

In December of last year, Li Bin, Chairman of NIO Auto, completed the 150kWh solid-state battery life challenge through a live broadcast. The actual driving distance reached 1,044 kilometers.

As NIO Auto, which first proposed the concept of a semi-solid state battery in China, released a 150 kWh semi-solid state battery as early as 2021, but after many “ticket hopping,” NIO Auto deliberately avoided the claim of semi-solid state batteries in propaganda. Despite this, latecomers continued to pour into this track. Before the 2024 Beijing Auto Show, Zhiji Auto's solid state battery became an important selling point for it to “sell” the Zhiji L6. Liu Tao, co-CEO of Zhiji Auto, also specially carried out a “live broadcast delivery” to convey to the outside world the level of development of Zhiji in the solid state battery field.

According to Liu Tao, the first generation Lightyear solid-state battery uses nanoscale solid electrolytes to coat an ultra-high nickel cathode and a new generation of high-specific energy silicon-carbon anodes. The CLTC battery life exceeds 1,000 km; the peak charging power reaches 400 kW, and the battery life increases by 400 km in 12 minutes; and has battery safety standards far exceeding national standards, which can achieve non-flammability at high temperatures and reduce puncture short circuits.

As the power battery supplier of Zhiji L6, Qingtao Energy said, “This solid state battery is a semi-solid state battery.” In order to enhance the lithium-ion conductivity of the solid electrolyte, Kiyotao Energy added 10% infiltrate to the electrolyte, reducing the total liquid content by about 5% compared to traditional ternary lithium batteries.

In the field of automakers, Changan Automobile is expected to launch 8 self-developed batteries including liquid, semi-solid, and solid by 2030; GAC Aian plans to mass produce and load all-solid-state batteries by 2026; Nissan, Toyota, BMW, Volkswagen, and Ford have all formulated their own solid state battery development plans.

Battery manufacturers are also sparing no effort to seize the lead in solid-state battery technology. At the recently concluded 16th Chongqing International Battery Technology Conference/Exhibition (CIBF2024), Tailan New Energy, which focuses on solid state battery R&D and manufacturing, showcased exhibits such as solid electrolyte materials, all-solid-state batteries, semi-solid soft packs and square aluminum case batteries, small power PACK, and NEV PACK exhibition bags. Among them, for the first time, Tailan exhibited a self-developed ultra-high energy density all-solid-state lithium metal battery with a single capacity of 120 Ah and a measured energy density of 720 Wh/kg.

Technology and costs still need to be optimized

As a leading power battery company, the Ningde Era has always been very cautious about solid-state batteries. In an interview, Chairman Zeng Yuqun of Ningde Times expressed doubts about whether Japanese companies can commercialize solid-state batteries as scheduled. Zeng Yuqun said that the Ningde era “spent 10 years” on solid-state batteries, but there are still many difficulties in bringing solid-state batteries to the market, including many problems with durability and safety.

At CIBF2024, Wu Kai, the chief scientist of the Ningde Era, said that if technology and manufacturing maturity are used as an evaluation system (with a score of 1-9), the R&D of all solid-state batteries in the Ningde Era is currently at the level of 4 points. Wu Kai said that the goal of the Ningde era is to reach the level of 7-8 points by 2027, which means that all-solid-state batteries can be produced in small batches at that time.

Wu Kai said that the Ningde era is working towards the goal of all-solid-state batteries accounting for 1% of the battery market, but there are still many scientific problems to be solved, such as solid interfaces, lithium metal anodes, solid electrolytes, and manufacturing processes. He mentioned that the development and mass production of all-solid-state batteries is a very difficult task, and the Ningde era collaborated extensively with various parties in the industrial chain, universities, etc.

Due to the current high cost of solid-state batteries, models equipped with such batteries are also more expensive. The pre-sale price of the Zhiji L6Max Standard Edition is “no more than 230,000 yuan”, while the pre-sale price of the Zhiji L6 Max Lightyear Edition equipped with the “first-generation Lightyear Solid-State Battery” is “no more than 330,000 yuan.” The Zhizhi L6 Max Lightyear Edition will open for sale in September of this year and will be officially delivered in October.

Precisely because of cost issues, the NIO 150 kWh battery pack, which will be officially put into operation on June 1, has adopted a “rent only, not sell” method. NIO Auto officially stated that for the vast majority of users, a 70/75 kWh battery pack is completely sufficient for normal travel, and 150 kWh battery packs will only be used in very few ultra-long travel scenarios. “Due to cost, manufacturing, etc., the initial battery supply was insufficient. The method of only renting and not selling can maximize battery utilization efficiency and allow more people to use and experience 150 kWh battery packs.”

As an early testing and “trial” selling point, semi-solid state batteries have reached an inflection point in commercialization. However, the industry generally believes that solid-state batteries will not be commercialized until around 2030. Ouyang Minggao, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, predicts that all-solid-state batteries are expected to be industrialized around 2030. “All-solid-state batteries are recognized as one of the preferred solutions for next-generation batteries. They are also a key high point of competition for next-generation battery technology, and may present disruptive risks.” Ouyang Ming is highly assertive.