In the 8 years since its establishment, it has completed multiple rounds of financing, including NIO, Xiaomi, and Huawei
are its shareholders......
Located in Fangshan Doudian, Beijing's high-end manufacturing base,
Success has given birth to a solid state
A "unicorn" enterprise in the field of batteries.
Beijing Weilan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. is a native of Fangshan. Solid-state batteries are its core business, and the new technology is safer and has a longer range than traditional batteries, and is expected to reach mass production in 2026. At that time, the new energy electric vehicle market may usher in another "change".
Less battery, more range
Walking into the hall on the first floor of the office building of Weilan New Energy Headquarters, you will see a set of power battery packs for new energy vehicles that are not good-looking. A nameplate the size of a playing card reveals its unique identity – a set of semi-solid-state lithium-ion batteries, tailored for the NIO brand, mounted on electric vehicles that can have a range of more than 1,000 kilometers in a single trip.
At the end of last year, Li Bin, the founder of NIO, and his team members drove an electric car from Shanghai to Xiamen, a journey of more than 1,000 kilometers. That car used the same battery that we made. Chen Liye, director of the office of the board of directors of Weilan New Energy, told reporters very proudly that a number of semi-solid-state batteries developed by the company have been mass-produced, and the research and development and testing of all-solid-state batteries are also in full swing.
Next to the headquarters office building is the R&D test center, where more than 300 engineers are conducting R&D tests on the charge-discharge rate, cycle life and safety of solid-state batteries. Not only do they want to make all-solid-state batteries mass-produced as soon as possible and more affordable, but they also want to fully realize the advantages of solid-state batteries with greater energy density, "with fewer batteries for more range." ”
"Unicorn" technology, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences
In the exhibition hall, an old photo next to the car's power battery pack attracted the attention of reporters. In the photo, two young men sit side by side and smile brightly, one with a European and American face, the other with a typical oriental face. "This was taken more than 40 years ago when Academician Chen was studying at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Chen Liye said.
Academician Chen Liquan, known as "the first person in China's lithium battery", is 84 years old this year and is one of the founders of Weilan New Energy. He graduated from the Department of Physics of the University of Science and Technology of China in 1964, studied in Germany in his early years, and has been engaged in the research of solid ion science and its application in energy since returning to China in 1978.
Academician Chen Liquan once recalled in a speech that as early as 1976, the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences had begun to study solid electrolyte materials. The other two founders of this "unicorn" company in the battery field, Li Hong, have been engaged in related research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences for a long time, and Yu Huigen has been engaged in lithium-ion battery research for nearly 30 years.
With the joining of experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Weilan New Energy solid-state batteries have shown the characteristic advantages of high safety. In the exhibition hall, the four rectangular batteries have been subjected to gunshots, acupuncture, extrusion, and high temperature tests, and have undergone obvious changes in shape, but there is no trace of fire and smoke.
The home is in Fangshan, and the supporting services are very thoughtful
Weilan New Energy was established in 2016, and Chen Liye joined in 2018 and is the company's "No. 32 employee", that is, the 32nd employee. Today, the company has 1,200 employees, and in addition to its headquarters and R&D test center in Fangshan, Beijing, it also has pilot and mass production bases in Shandong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu.
In the process of gradually growing from a start-up to a "unicorn", Zhongguancun Fangshan Park Beijing high-end manufacturing base has accompanied it all the way. Take the 70-acre Weilan New Energy Headquarters and R&D Test Center as an example, considering that enterprises need to invest a lot of money in technical research, Fangshan District has invested in building projects for enterprises, and these spaces can be repurchased when the enterprises develop and grow.
"When it was completed and delivered at the beginning of last year, many of the old employees were so excited that they shed tears. The relevant person in charge of Zhongguancun Fangshan Park said that Beijing High-end Manufacturing Base Investment and Development Co., Ltd. also invested in Weilan New Energy and became one of the shareholders of the company, "The purpose is very clear, that is, to grow together with the company." Next, Weilan also plans to build a new battery production base in Fangshan.
But after all, Doudian is located outside the South Sixth Ring Road in Beijing, and the enterprises settle down here, and the supporting services closely related to the lives of employees can keep up? The reporter found that the overall supporting services of Beijing's high-end manufacturing base are not worse than those in the city, there are 600 sets of scientist apartments, downstairs Western restaurants, cafes and other brand restaurants, as well as gyms, swimming pools, and bookstores are all complete, and there are 14 lines of commuter shuttle buses between Doudian and Liuliqiao, Beihang University, People's Congress, Wangjing, Xierqi and other places every working day.
Explanation of terms
The four main materials of solid-state batteries and lithium batteries are cathode, anode, electrolyte, and separator. Among them, the role of the electrolyte and the separator is to realize the free shuttle of lithium ions, which is the process of charging and discharging. Solid-state batteries replace electrolytes with solid-state electrolytes to improve battery safety. At the same time, solid-state batteries can be matched with positive and negative electrode materials with higher energy density to improve the energy density of the battery and improve the range of electric vehicles.