Recently, an industry planning document marked "Development Plan for New Energy Vehicle Industry (2021-2035)" (draft for comments) (hereinafter referred to as "Planning") has flowed out online, and many people feel very enjoyable. This can give a glimpse of the general direction of the long-term planning of the new energy vehicle industry at the government level. The "Planning" published on the Internet put forward specific goals for the industrial development and technological innovation of power batteries and fuel cells. Among them, "Accelerate the R & D and Industrialization of All-Solid-State Power Battery Technology" was listed as the "New Energy Vehicle Core Technology Tackling Project" by the Internet "Planning". If the news is true, the full development of all-solid-state batteries may be promoted to the national strategic level.
Because of its high energy density, high safety, and high stability, solid-state batteries are considered by the industry as the next-generation mainstream power battery technology route. In recent years, mainstream international car companies such as Toyota, Volkswagen, BMW, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, etc. have invested in R & D of solid-state battery technology, hoping to occupy a dominant position in the next-generation power battery technology competition. Domestic car companies, research institutes, and battery companies are also paying close attention to and developing solid-state batteries. This time, the "Planning" of the Internet reported that solid-state batteries were listed as the core technology research project. If the project is true, the government may hope to cooperate with domestic scientific research institutes and enterprise resources to accelerate the technology research and development process.
Comparison of solid-state lithium-ion batteries and traditional lithium-ion batteries
With the rapid growth of new energy vehicle ownership, new energy vehicle safety accidents have also gradually increased, with new energy vehicles catching fire especially. Because existing lithium batteries contain flammable liquid electrolytes, it is difficult to fundamentally solve this problem. Solid-state batteries use solid-state electrolytes with ionic conductivity to replace the electrolyte in whole or in part, which is conducive to improving battery safety. At the same time, from the perspective of improving battery performance, solid-state batteries also have great potential compared to existing liquid lithium batteries. Academician Ouyang Minggao of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that based on the comparison of power battery technology routes in various countries, the short-term is a liquid electrolyte lithium-ion battery, and the next step will be the development of solid-state batteries. Considering the battery cost and the development direction of power batteries, Ouyang Minggao suggested that China should follow a similar path, that is, liquid electrolyte in the short term, develop high nickel ternary positive electrode and silicon carbon anode; in the medium and long term, gradually transition from liquid electrolyte to All solid state battery.
Solid-state batteries are expected to break the "safety anxiety, battery life anxiety, and charging anxiety" of consumers about electric vehicles, which has always attracted great attention from car companies. In addition, European and American auto companies also hope to regain the initiative in the power battery sector by taking the lead in mastering solid-state battery technology. At present, Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW, Renault, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Ford and other international auto companies, BYD, Weilai, Skyline, Hezhong, BAIC and other domestic auto companies have invested in the field of solid-state batteries.
In terms of battery companies, domestic companies such as Ningde Times, BYD, Ganfeng Lithium, Beijing Weilan, Qingtao Energy, Lishen Battery, Huineng Technology, Guoxuan Hi-Tech, Yiwei Lithium, and Jiawei have always had solid-state batteries R & D. Mainstream companies in some foreign industries are also stepping up their deployment. In January of this year, Toyota and Panasonic announced that the two parties will establish a joint venture company for square batteries for vehicles by the end of 2020, responsible for the development and production of all-solid-state batteries and square lithium batteries for vehicles; 2018 In November, Samsung SDI, LG Chem and SKI agreed to jointly develop core battery technology. In addition, the three companies will set up a fund of 100 billion won (about 90 million U.S. dollars) to jointly invest in the research and development of solid-state batteries, lithium metal batteries, and lithium-sulfur batteries.
Improve the power battery industry development system
The "Planning" published by the Internet stated that after fifteen years of continuous efforts, major breakthroughs in the core technology of new energy vehicles in China have been achieved, pure electric vehicles have become mainstream, and fuel cell commercial vehicles have achieved large-scale application. By 2030, new energy vehicles will form a competitive advantage in the market, with sales accounting for 40% of total vehicle sales in that year. At that time, it will form a “three vertical” pattern with pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles, and lay out a technological innovation chain for the entire vehicle. The technology is "three horizontal", and a key parts technology supply system is established.
In addition, the "Planning" also proposes to promote the development of the full value chain of power batteries. Specifically, optimize the industrial organization structure and increase the concentration of the industry. Power battery production requires lithium, nickel, cobalt and other metal resources. In order to ensure a stable supply of power batteries for electric vehicles, the industry has long-term healthy development, and there is an urgent need for stability and even lock-in of upstream resources. The Plan encourages qualified enterprises to improve their ability to guarantee key resources such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and platinum.
As the scale of electric vehicles grows, how to effectively recycle decommissioned batteries has also become a difficult issue for the industry. The "Planning" published on the Internet requires that a multi-level and multi-purpose recycling system for power batteries be improved, and co-establishment of shared recycling channels be encouraged. At the same time, establish and improve the management system of power battery transportation and storage, maintenance, safety inspection, scrapping and withdrawal, and strengthen the whole life cycle supervision.
In addition, the "Planning" on the Internet also proposed to establish and improve a modular standard system for power batteries, accelerate breakthroughs in key manufacturing equipment, and improve process levels and production efficiency.
Breaking the obstacles to the development of the hydrogen fuel cell industry
As one of the important routes for the development of new energy vehicle industry, hydrogen fuel cell technology has received increasing attention. However, the current hydrogen fuel cell vehicle industry still faces difficulties such as unbreakable core technologies, lack of localization of key components, lack of infrastructure, and excessive costs. The "Planning" published by the Internet stated that the construction of a hydrogen fuel supply guarantee system must be promoted in an orderly manner. Specifically, to improve the economics of hydrogen fuel storage and transportation: according to local conditions, carry out industrial by-product hydrogen production and renewable energy hydrogen production technology applications, and accelerate the industrialization of advanced and applicable hydrogen storage materials. Develop high-pressure gaseous, low-temperature liquid and solid state storage and transportation technology demonstration applications, explore the construction of hydrogen transportation pipelines, and gradually reduce the cost of hydrogen fuel storage and transportation.
In terms of infrastructure, guide companies to rationally arrange hydrogenation infrastructure based on hydrogen fuel supply and consumption needs. The "Planning" on the Internet also stated that it supports enterprises to use the existing sites and facilities to carry out comprehensive supply services of oil, gas, hydrogen and electricity.
The imperfect regulatory system is also one of the obstacles hindering the development of the hydrogen fuel cell industry. The "Planning" published on the Internet pointed out that it will improve the policy and regulatory environment and establish a policy mechanism to promote the coordinated development of hydrogen fuel storage and transportation. Improve the management specifications of the hydrogenation infrastructure project establishment, approval, construction, acceptance, commissioning, etc., strengthen the hydrogenation infrastructure safety supervision, and improve the hydrogenation infrastructure safety standards and testing and certification capabilities. Improve the standards and test system for high-pressure hydrogen storage devices for vehicles.