The development of storage batteries is good but still needs strong support from the government

The battery industry is one of the sunrise industries that has attracted extensive attention both domestically and internationally, with its technology-intensive, wide-reaching and development potential. In recent years, the battery industry in our province has accelerated its development, playing a significant role in promoting the steady and positive development of the province's industrial economy.

1. Development status of battery industry

Battery production includes battery production and the production and processing of various materials such as positive and negative electrode materials, electrolytes, diaphragms and electronic control materials. The battery industry involves many industries in the industrial economy, such as automobiles, electronic information, nonferrous metals, and chemicals. Its statistical caliber is basically consistent with the advanced energy storage materials in the new materials industry. According to preliminary statistics, in 2016, there were 84 enterprises above designated size in the province's battery industry, with a total main business income of 43.475 billion yuan, an increase of 11.0% over the previous year, and a profit of 2.188 billion yuan after deducting losses, an increase of 55.9%. The province's battery industry can be summarized as "fast", "excellent" and "good".

Fast growth. In terms of revenue, preliminary statistics show that in the first quarter of this year, advanced energy storage material production enterprises in the province's large-scale industries achieved a total main business income of 9.734 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.6%, and the growth rate increased by 22.5 percentage points over the same period last year. In terms of added value, in the first quarter, the added value of advanced energy storage materials in the province's large-scale industries increased by 24.6% year-on-year, 11.7 percentage points faster than the same period last year, 15.7 percentage points faster than the average growth rate of the new materials industry, and 17.3 percentage points faster than the average growth rate of large-scale industries. From the perspective of the main constituent industries, the seven medium-sized industries in advanced energy storage materials such as battery manufacturing, automobile parts and accessories manufacturing, precious metal smelting, graphite and other non-metallic mineral products manufacturing, common non-ferrous metal smelting, basic chemical raw materials manufacturing, and electronic component manufacturing achieved a total main business income of 8.412 billion yuan, an increase of 35.9%, and an added value of 2.144 billion yuan, an increase of 41.4%. ;

Excellent structure. At present, the province's battery industry is mainly based on the production of lithium-ion batteries and materials with long battery life, good safety performance and strong market competitiveness. According to preliminary statistics, in 2016, the added value of lithium-ion battery manufacturing accounted for 75.3% of the battery manufacturing industry in the province. By the first quarter of this year, this proportion rose to 81.7%, and the growth rate also increased from 30.2% in 2016 to 73.7%. In the first quarter, the added value of nickel-hydrogen battery manufacturing accounted for only 7.1% of the battery manufacturing industry, an increase of 10.7%.

Good benefits. According to preliminary statistics, in the first quarter of this year, the province's advanced energy storage material production enterprises in the scale industry achieved a main business income of 9.734 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.6%; after deducting losses, they realized a profit of 493 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.8%, an increase of 36.8 percentage points over the same period last year, and 13.1 percentage points faster than the average growth rate of total industrial profits. Among them, the growth rates of commonly used non-ferrous metal smelting, automobile parts and accessories manufacturing, and battery manufacturing ranked the top three, increasing by 120.4%, 108.8% and 89.0% respectively.

2. Main characteristics of battery industry development

First, it is capital-intensive and technology-intensive. The battery industry is a typical capital-intensive industry, which requires high capital investment from enterprises. This is mainly reflected in two aspects: on the one hand, the demand for investment capital such as plant construction, equipment purchase, and technology research and development is large; on the other hand, the cost of raw materials for enterprise production is high, and the capital recovery cycle is long, so the demand for enterprise operating capital is large. The battery industry is also a typical technology-intensive industry, which requires high scientific research and technical levels of enterprises. This is mainly reflected in two aspects. On the one hand, the battery industry is highly competitive and has high technical requirements for product quality; on the other hand, the battery industry has strict requirements for enterprise safety production and environmental protection compliance, and has high technical requirements for enterprise production and processing.

Second, the market-oriented characteristics are obvious. The battery industry is obviously market-oriented, and industries with high technical content, high product added value, and keeping up with market hotspots have grown significantly. According to preliminary estimates, in the first quarter, among the seven major components of advanced energy storage materials, the automobile parts and accessories manufacturing industry and the battery manufacturing industry, which are highly related to the automobile industry, took the lead in development, achieving an increase in added value of 75.9% and 62.5% respectively; the electronic component manufacturing industry and the basic chemical raw material manufacturing industry, which are mainly related to the production of basic materials for batteries, developed rapidly, increasing by 54.7% and 54.1% respectively; the commonly used non-ferrous metal smelting industry and the precious metal smelting industry, which are highly related to the non-ferrous industry, increased by 28.3% and 18.1% respectively; the manufacturing of graphite and other non-metallic mineral products, which is mainly based on the production of negative electrode materials, increased by 2.5%.

Third, the industry has obvious agglomeration characteristics. Changsha, Chenzhou and Xiangtan are the main concentrated development areas of the battery industry in our province. In 2016, among the 14 cities and prefectures in the province, Changsha, Chenzhou and Xiangtan ranked the top three in terms of advanced energy storage material production scale, and their added value accounted for 43.3%, 23.7% and 7.8% of the province respectively, and a total of 74.9%. In the first quarter of this year, among the 14 cities and prefectures in the province, Changsha, Xiangtan and Chenzhou ranked the top three in terms of advanced energy storage material production scale, and their added value accounted for 33.8%, 23.3% and 19.6% of the province respectively, and a total of 76.7%, an increase of 1.8 percentage points over the whole year of last year, and a year-on-year increase of 22.7%, 66.8% and 16.5% respectively.

3. Opportunities and challenges facing the development of the battery industry

The rapid development of new energy vehicles, electronic information and artificial intelligence has brought unprecedented development opportunities to the battery industry. In recent years, the battery industry in our province has accelerated its development, and the production of lithium-ion batteries, positive electrode materials, negative electrode materials, etc. has begun to take shape. However, at the same time, it is also facing many unfavorable factors such as poor market environment, high electricity costs, shortage of talent resources, and the need to improve technical level, which need to be paid attention to.

First, the operating environment is not optimal. The development base of the battery industry in our province is small (the added value of advanced energy storage materials accounted for 0.72%, 0.86% and 1.0% of the scale industry in 2015, 2016 and the first quarter of this year, respectively). The product market is narrow. In addition, the battery industry itself involves a wide range of areas, and production and operation are easily affected by market demand. In recent years, although the overall industrial economy of our province has maintained stable and positive development, the growth rate is still running in a low range. With the gradual withdrawal of the state's subsidy policy for new energy vehicles, it is still unknown whether the battery industry, which has relied on policy preferences and financial support in the past, can withstand the impact of the market.

Second, the cost of electricity is relatively high. The battery industry has a large demand for electricity. Some companies reported that the average price of industrial electricity in our province (about 70 cents per kilowatt-hour) is much higher than that in western provinces such as Inner Mongolia and Guizhou (about 30-50 cents per kilowatt-hour), as well as some coastal provinces such as Fujian (about 50 cents per kilowatt-hour). The high cost of electricity prices has squeezed the profit margins of enterprises, the lack of competitive advantages in product prices, and the lack of matching between upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. Many companies have complained about the long-standing problem of high electricity prices affecting the development of Hunan's industrial economy.

Third, there is a shortage of talent resources. The development of the battery industry has a great demand for mid- to high-end talent resources. Although our province has a large number of material professionals trained by colleges and universities such as Central South University and Hunan University, there is still a certain gap between our province and developed coastal provinces in terms of salary, children's education, housing and medical care, resulting in a serious loss of professional talent. It is still difficult for enterprises to recruit workers, it is expensive to recruit workers, and it is difficult to retain people.