Nearly 3 weeks have passed since the Xiaomi SU7 was launched, but Lei Jun and Xiaomi Auto still control the traffic pool. "Splashing traffic" will inevitably make friends red, so it is not uncommon for the head of the car circle to go live in person, and the "linkage" between the new product launch conference and Xiaomi Auto.
Among them, the operation of the Zhiji L6 press conference, although it touched Xiaomi's "reverse scale", but in the era of "black and red is also red", Liu Tao successfully attracted the attention of people inside and outside the industry, and Zhiji L6 also became famous in one fell swoop. In fact, in addition to the press conference to "rub traffic", Zhiji Auto's solid-state battery technology is also very controversial.
Touted solid-state batteries
At the pre-sale press conference of the Zhiji L6, Liu Tao, co-CEO of Zhiji Automobile, said: "The Zhiji L6 Max Light-Year Edition is equipped with a first-generation light-year solid-state battery, which has the characteristics of high safety performance, non-explosive battery, high energy density, and high battery life. ”
A few days later, Feng Xingya, general manager of GAC Group, introduced the all-solid-state battery technology at the GAC Technology Day, including "energy density of more than 400Wh/kg", "the use of third-generation sponge silicon anode and high-capacity solid-state cathode technology", and "cruising range of more than 1000km......
It is worth mentioning that NIO announced on April 3 that its 150kWh solid-state battery has entered the mass production stage and is scheduled to be put into use in the second quarter.
The ensuing good news for solid-state batteries has made the technology the focus of attention in the industry, but it has also been followed by endless doubts. For example, Liu Tao said on Weibo that the Zhiji L6 will launch the "Wang Fried" - the first mass-produced ultra-fast charging solid-state battery on the basis of the quasi-900V ultra-performance platform.
Zhao Changjiang, general manager of Denza, commented: "At this time, the promotion of semi-solid-state vehicle batteries is playing with words. ”
With the two sides insisting on their own opinions, the research and development progress of solid-state batteries has attracted much attention. So how far away are solid-state batteries?
"Pouring cold water" on solid-state batteries
What exactly is a solid-state battery?
In layman's terms, solid-state batteries replace the electrolyte in traditional liquid lithium batteries with solid-state electrolytes, so as to achieve high energy density and high safety that are difficult to achieve in traditional liquid lithium batteries.
This means that once solid-state batteries are mass-produced, it can not only eliminate consumers' anxiety about battery life, but may even make major car companies stop fighting on the battery safety "battlefield". However, it is difficult to achieve the development and even commercial production of solid-state batteries.
As early as the 90s of the last century, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States discovered a suitable solid-state electrolyte, both the battery energy density and the number of cycles are far more than the current lithium iron phosphate batteries. Unfortunately, in the next 30 years, when people tried to get solid-state batteries out of the lab, they found that there were many thorns beyond the walls, including a lack of raw material suppliers, a demanding electrolyte production environment, and high production costs.
As of October 2023, Toyota has applied for more than 1,300 patents for all-solid-state batteries, almost 10 times that of domestic battery companies.
Since 2012, when Toyota discovered the potential of the sulfide route, it has cooperated with a number of car companies and battery suppliers to build a solid-state battery R&D system.
In 2017, Toyota announced that the mass production of solid-state batteries would be in 2020, but it was postponed from the original time of 2020 to 2028.
According to the data, Toyota's sulfide solid-state electrolyte ion conductivity is 32 mS/cm, which is the core technology of solid-state batteries, while the oxide route lithium-ion conductivity of Zhiji automotive battery supplier Qingtao and other battery suppliers is only 0.2-0.5 mS/cm.
Taking foreign car companies/laboratories as an example, comparing with Chinese battery suppliers, it is inevitable that there is a suspicion of "growing the prestige of others and destroying their own ambition".
Earlier, Zeng Yuqun, the head of "Ningwang", said in an interview that there are still many challenges to bring solid-state batteries to the market.
Even if solid-state batteries have successfully moved from the laboratory to commercial mass production, the reliability and cost of products still restrict the promotion of solid-state batteries. According to industry insiders, the current cost of semi-solid-state batteries is 40%~50% higher than that of liquid batteries, and the cost of solid-state batteries is higher.
In short, the so-called "solid-state battery is coming" is more like a set of marketing "words" to "add fire" to the heat of the press conference.
summary
In 2024, power batteries may enter a new stage of development, but they are still far from the real landing of solid-state batteries. However, compared with the development of power batteries, it is shocking that in order to attract market attention, car companies confuse "semi-solid-state batteries" with "solid-state batteries". It can be seen that in the era when traffic is king, the "impetuous wind" has penetrated into all corners of the car rim, and there is a lack of awe of technology.