On the evening of July 2nd, Shanghai SK Automation Technology announced that it has signed a cooperation and development agreement with Qingtao (Kunshan) Energy Development Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Qingtao Energy") and both parties will invest in research and development personnel to a joint laboratory, focusing on the research and industrialization of core equipment for all-solid-state batteries.

Qingtao Energy was established in 2016, and is an energy research and manufacturing company located in Kunshan Development Zone, with the backing of Tsinghua University. It was founded by a team of academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University, focusing on the industrial transformation of top new energy material technology.

Previously, in 2020, Qingtao Energy completed the construction and production of a solid-state power lithium battery mass production line, achieving a capacity upgrade from 0.1 GWh to 1 GWh.

The new model of Zhiji L6 released by Zhiji Auto on April 8th of this year is equipped with a semi-solid-state battery developed by Qingtao Energy. According to the introduction, the compactness of the positive and negative electrode materials of this type of battery far exceeds that of traditional liquid-state batteries, greatly reducing the liquid content of the battery.

Li Zheng, co-founder of Qingtao Energy, said in April this year that the company's second-generation solid-state battery is currently in small-scale trial production and is expected to start large-scale production this year. The company is also conducting verification work on the third-generation all-solid-state battery and is expected to achieve mass production in 2027.

As a new energy battery intelligent equipment company, Shanghai SK Automation Technology initially engaged in the production of fuel vehicle stand-alone equipment, and later entered the field of intelligent manufacturing equipment. With the rise of China's new energy vehicles, Shanghai SK Automation Technology entered the new energy lithium battery production line in 2013 and became one of the earliest equipment suppliers in the new energy field.

So far, Shanghai SK Automation Technology has laid out key new energy vehicle components manufacturing and testing fields such as power battery module / battery pack (PACK), electric vehicle powertrain system (EDS), and power battery testing and inspection system, and has provided intelligent production lines to power battery companies such as Contemporary Amperex Technology, Farasis Energy (Ganzhou) Co., Ltd., Eve Energy Co., Ltd., and Gotion High-tech domestically and internationally.

"Whether it is the production line of intelligent manufacturing of autos or the production line system of new energy vehicle batteries, including energy storage systems, the underlying logic and technology of these high-end equipment are interrelated. Shanghai SK Automation Technology's added focus on the research and development and industrialization of all-solid-state batteries is a concrete manifestation of its expansion of the industry chain and business layout." said an industry insider in the field of new energy to a reporter from "Star Daily".

It is worth mentioning that, with a series of developments such as the announcement of the Zhiji L6 model equipped with a semi-solid-state battery, and the release of semi-solid-state batteries by Gotion High-tech, the commercialization and industrialization of solid-state batteries have become a market hot spot this year.

"However, issues such as ionic conductivity, solid-solid interface, and cycling performance of all-solid-state batteries have not yet been fully resolved." said Yu Qingjiao, Secretary-General of the Zhongguancun New Battery Technology Innovation Alliance, recently.

Shanghai SK Automation Technology also stated in this announcement that the two parties do not currently involve specific amounts and will sign specific project cooperation agreements based on the progress of the cooperation. "The uncertainty arises from whether subsequent cooperation can form commercialized results and bring benefits to the company."