Riding on the development of new energy vehicles, the major power battery companies are accelerating the race, as one of them, the Ningde era is also frantically preparing for the war, on the one hand, continue to promote the research and development iteration of new technologies, on the other hand, continue to raise funds to expand production, in order to stabilize its leading position in the industry. Recently, Gaz Auto conducted a year-end inventory of key car companies and parts companies, and this article will take you back to the big things that happened in the Ningde era in 2021!
Deepen the layout of power exchange, And ningde times and Guizhou Province jointly build a power exchange network
On December 24, CATL New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (300750, hereinafter referred to as CATL) and the People's Government of Guizhou Province signed an agreement on cooperation in the construction of a power exchange network in Guiyang City. According to the agreement, the two sides will cooperate in depth in the construction of new energy vehicle power exchange network facilities, promote the improvement of new energy vehicle power exchange capacity, and promote the high-quality development of the new energy industry, and jointly build a double highland of Guizhou's new energy market and industry. This move in the Ningde era can be seen as a further deepening of the layout of the power exchange industry.
As early as the signing of the agreement with Guizhou Province to cooperate in the construction of a power exchange network, the Ningde era has begun to exert efforts in the field of power exchange. In July 2020, CATL signed a contract with BAIC BJEV for the vehicle-to-electricity separation project, and officially entered the field of power exchange operation as a battery manufacturer. Subsequently, the heavy truck for power exchange jointly built by CATL and Futian Zhilan New Energy was delivered in Beijing, becoming the first commercial application scenario of heavy truck replacement in China. In August 2020, CATL joined hands with NIO to establish Wuhan WEINENG Battery Asset Company, while Nezha Automobile cooperated with several battery factories, including CATL, to launch the vehicle-to-electricity separation model. Based on these layouts, CATL officially launched the power exchange service brand EVOGO and the overall solution of combined power exchange through its wholly-owned subsidiary Times Electric Service on January 18, 2022, and comprehensively entered the power exchange market.
Catalonia times lowered the total amount of additional funds raised to no more than 45 billion yuan
On the evening of November 15, CATL (592.600, 17.61, 3.06%) (300750. SZ) issued the Announcement on Adjusting the Plan for Issuing Shares to Specific Targets, which lowered the total amount of funds raised from no more than 58.2 billion yuan to no more than 45 billion yuan, and cancelled two investment projects of the raised funds. If you count the IPO financing, this is the third financing in the 4 years of the CATL era, and if successfully implemented, the total financing of the three times is about 70 billion yuan.
CATL 58.2 billion fixed increase investment project, image source: NINGDE times announcement screenshot
Adjusted capital increase project, image source: Ningde times announcement screenshot
Previously, CATL disclosed on August 12 that it intended to raise no more than 58.2 billion yuan and invest in 7 projects by issuing shares to no more than 35 specific targets. Compared with the above-mentioned fundraising plan, the investment projects raised by the new plan were reduced from 7 to 5, reducing the Ningde Times Huxi Lithium-ion Battery Expansion Project (Phase II) and other projects, supplementing the working capital of two projects, and the amount of funds raised by the two was 3.1 billion yuan and 9.3 billion yuan respectively; in addition, the amount of funds raised in the Ningde Jiaocheng Times Lithium-ion Power Battery Production Base Project (Cheliwan Project) was reduced from 5.4 billion yuan to 4.6 billion yuan; the total amount of funds raised was reduced by 13.2 billion yuan.
Continue to increase production expansion, Ningde times to invest 15 billion yuan to build a power battery production base
On the evening of November 5, CATL issued an announcement that it intends to invest in the construction of the first phase of the Guizhou New Energy Power and Energy Storage Battery Manufacturing Base in Gui'an New District, Guizhou Province, with an investment of no more than 7 billion yuan; at the same time, it intends to invest in the construction of the Xiamen Times Lithium-ion Battery Production Base Project (Phase I), with an investment of no more than 8 billion yuan. According to the industry's general estimates, the average investment amount of lithium battery projects per 1GWh production capacity is about 300 million yuan, which calculates the corresponding production capacity of the above two projects is about 50GWh.
At present, with the rapid development of new energy vehicles, the demand for power batteries is increasing, and major power battery companies are expanding production. Among them, Ningde Times, since February 2021, has successively built or expanded production bases in Liyang, Jiangsu, Zhaoqing, Guangdong, Yibin, Sichuan, Xiapu, Ningde, Fujian, Yichun, Jiangxi, with a planned total investment of about 84.5 billion yuan. According to the planning of the NINGDE era, its battery production capacity is expected to reach more than 670GWh by 2025.
In terms of other power battery suppliers, Hive Energy announced in December 2021 when it released the 2025 "600" strategy of leading bees that the company's global capacity planning target for 2025 was raised to 600GWh, only 70GWh less than the Ningde era. According to media statistics, BYD's total planned production capacity is expected to exceed 670GWh in 2025, the planned production capacity of China Innovation Airlines (AVIC Lithium Battery) will reach 500GWh, and the planning capacity of Guoxuan Hi-Tech will reach 300GWh.
Avita Technology completed the first round of strategic financing, and CATL became the second largest shareholder
On November 5, Changan Automobile (000625. SZ) issued an announcement showing that the public listing capital increase transaction of its holding subsidiary, Avita Technology (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Avita Technology"), has made the latest progress, and finally identified three investors (in the form of a consortium), namely the consortium of Ningde Times and Fujian Mindong Times Rural Investment and Development Partnership (Limited Partnership), the consortium of Chongqing Cheng'an Private Equity Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership) and Chongqing Liangjiangxi Securities Equity Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership), respectively. A consortium of Southern Industrial Asset Management Co., Ltd. and Chongqing Southern Industrial Equity Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership).
Image source: Changan Automobile announcement
The capital increase and share expansion were carried out in cash, of which Changan Automobile increased its capital by 500 million yuan, Ningde Times increased its capital by 769.6 million yuan, Fujian Mindong increased its capital by 160.4 million yuan, Chongqing Cheng'an increased its capital by 610 million yuan, Liangjiangxi Securities increased by 60 million yuan, Southern Assets increased by 280 million yuan, Southern Industrial Fund increased its capital by 40 million yuan, and the above investors increased their cumulative capital by a total of 2.42 billion yuan.
After the completion of the capital increase, the registered capital of Avita Technology Company will increase from RMB 288 million to RMB 1172.2426 million, changan automobile's shareholding ratio will be diluted from 95.38% to 39.02%, CATL will hold 23.99%, Fujian Mindong will hold 5.00%, Chongqing Cheng'an will hold 19.01%, Liangjiangxi Securities will hold 1.87%, Southern Assets will hold 8.73%, and Southern Industrial Fund will hold 1.25%. NIO did not participate in the capital increase, and its shareholding ratio will be diluted from 4.62% to 1.13%.
Shanghai holds hands with ningde times, and will land projects such as research institutes and manufacturing bases
On August 18, the Shanghai Municipal People's Government and CATL signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement in Shanghai. According to the agreement, CATL will land in Shanghai global innovation center and international functional headquarters, future energy research institute, high-end manufacturing base and other related projects. In addition, the two sides will also deepen cooperation and docking in the fields of cutting-edge technology research and innovative application of new energy, the transformation of urban transportation electrification, and the cultivation of high-end talents in new energy.
According to CATL, the Global Innovation Center will focus on innovation systems such as "advanced material innovation", "structural design innovation", "extreme manufacturing innovation" and "business model innovation" to carry out business layout and undertake relevant international business functions. The Future Energy Research Institute will cooperate with Shanghai Jiao Tong University to create a cutting-edge platform that combines "scientific research innovation" and "talent training" to tackle a number of forward-looking technologies in the field of future-oriented new energy. The high-end manufacturing base will rely on the latest production and manufacturing technology of the Ningde era to build a green and efficient intelligent factory in the Lingang New Area.
CATL officially released sodium-ion batteries
On July 29, 2021, CATL officially launched the first generation of sodium-ion batteries to the outside world. According to official data, the first generation of sodium-ion batteries exceeded the expectations of the outside world in terms of core performance parameters. The energy density of the cell cell is as high as 160Wh/kg; charging at room temperature for 15 minutes, the power can reach more than 80%, and in the low temperature environment of -20 degrees Celsius, it also has a discharge retention rate of more than 90%. "The energy density research and development target for the next generation of sodium-ion batteries is more than 200Wh/kg." Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, said.
Sodium-ion battery, image source: Ningde times
In fact, sodium-ion battery technology is not a completely new path, it was studied by industry as early as the 19th century. The physical and chemical properties of sodium and lithium are very similar, but specifically, the theoretical mass and theoretical volume of lithium are 3.3 times and 1.8 times that of sodium, respectively, and the potential is 12% higher than that of sodium, which makes lithium more dominant in energy density. Based on this, the commercialization process of lithium-ion batteries is much faster than that of sodium-ion batteries.
However, at present, with the expansion of the new energy vehicle market, the scale of the driving power battery segment is growing, the pattern of lithium battery dominance is gradually broken, and the battery technology such as sodium ion that was originally forgotten in the corner has room to play. According to the planning of the Ningde era, the company has begun to industrialize the layout of sodium-ion batteries, and plans to form a basic industrial chain in 2023.
The market value of the Ningde era exceeded one trillion yuan for the first time
On May 31, the stock price of CATL hit a record high, with a total market value of more than 1 trillion yuan, becoming the first trillion yuan market value stock on the ChiNext board. According to the data, the Ningde era opened high on the same day, and the intraday stock price reached a high of 435.57 yuan, a record high; as of the close, the Ningde era reported 434.10 yuan / share, an increase of 5.98%, and the latest total market value was 1.01 trillion yuan, becoming the first listed company with a total market value of more than 1 trillion yuan on the ChiNext board. In the past two trading days, the stock price of CATL has risen by more than 13%.
Image source: Oriental Fortune Network
In the industry's view, behind the trillion market value of the Ningde era, an important driving factor is its absolute leading position in the field of power batteries. According to data from the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, from January to April 2021, CATL ranked first in the country with an installed capacity of 16.04GWh of power batteries, with a market share of 50.7%, far exceeding the second place BYD's 13.4%.
In addition, in the global power battery market, CATL has also won the fourth consecutive championship with a market share of more than 30%. In the first quarter of 2021, CATL ranked first in the world with an installed capacity of 15.1GWh of power batteries, with a market share of 31.46%; the second place was LG New Energy, with an installed capacity and market share of 9.8GWh and 20.42% respectively.
CATL invested another 10.5 billion yuan to expand the production capacity of NIC
On the evening of February 25, CATL issued an announcement that the company's holding subsidiary, Times SAIC Power Battery Co., Ltd., intends to invest in the construction of times SAIC power battery production line expansion project. According to public information, the shareholders behind TIMES SAIC are NINGDE Times and SAIC Automotive Group Investment Management Co., Ltd., which was established in 2017; Among them, CATL holds 51% of the shares, and SAIC Motor Group Investment Management Co., Ltd. holds 49% of the shares.
The project will be settled in Zhongguancun High-tech Zone, Liyang City, Jiangsu Province, with a total investment of no more than 10.5 billion yuan, funded by TIMES SAIC Motor. The project will be built in two phases, the first phase of the project will not exceed 15 months from the start of construction, and the second phase of the project is planned to start within one year after the construction of the first phase. The project covers a total area of about 880 acres, of which the first phase of the project covers an area of about 425 acres, and the second phase of the project covers an area of about 455 acres. According to the investment cost of 300 million yuan / GWh, the planned production capacity of this investment may reach 35GWh, superimposed on the existing 36GWh of times SAIC, and after the completion of this project, the overall production capacity of times SAIC will exceed 70GWh.
Ningde era medium and long-term strategic planning exposure: CTC technology will be launched in 2025
On January 27, Xiang Yanhuo, president of the passenger car solution department of CATL China, revealed that CATL will officially launch highly integrated CTC (Cell to Chassis) battery technology around 2025, and is expected to be upgraded to the fifth generation of intelligent CTC electric chassis system around 2028.
In order to help reduce the cost of electric vehicles, CATL launched the first generation of CTP battery technology (Cell To Pack) for passenger cars in 2019, that is, the battery cell is directly integrated into the battery pack, which can increase the volume utilization rate by 15%-20% compared with the traditional battery pack, reduce the number of parts by 40%, increase production efficiency by 50% and reduce the manufacturing cost of power batteries.
Image source: Ningde Times
According to Xiang Yanhuo, CATL is currently planning a second-generation platform-based CTP battery system, which is scheduled to be put into market application in 2022-2023, and will launch a third-generation series CTP battery system for a full range of models from A00 to D; and in order to further improve the cruising range and cost optimization, CATL is accelerating the research of CTC technology.
Similar to the CTP naming principle, under CTC battery technology, the battery cell can be directly integrated into the chassis, thus achieving a higher degree of integration. Specifically, CTC technology will not only rearrange the battery, but also incorporate the three-electric system, including motors, electronic controls, and vehicle high voltages such as DC/DC, OBC, etc. In the future, CTC technology will further optimize power distribution and reduce energy consumption through intelligent power domain controllers.