The evolution of the power battery industry from the mass production and installation of cobalt-free batteries

Basic innovations and industrial breakthroughs based on electrochemical materials are allowing Chinese companies to occupy a "new heights" in global power battery technology.

On August 29, the 24th Chengdu International Auto Show opened at the China Western International Expo City. Honeycomb Energy was the only battery company participating in the exhibition. At the auto show, the ORA Cherry Cat model equipped with Honeycomb Energy's cobalt-free battery was officially released.

As the first pure electric SUV under the Great Wall Ora brand, one of the most popular highlights of the Cherry Cat model is that it is the first to be equipped with Honeycomb Energy's cobalt-free battery pack system, with a total power of 82.5kWh, a system energy density of 170Wh/kg, and supports a working range of over 600 kilometers.

Compared with high-nickel ternary batteries of the same level, the honeycomb cobalt-free battery cell has a lower cost and a cycle life of more than 3,000 times. It can easily pass the 150°C hot box test and the 140% SOC overcharge test, and has multiple international standard certifications.

With the official launch of the Ora Cherry Cat model, it means that Honeycomb Energy's cobalt-free batteries have been mass-produced and installed in vehicles. This makes it the world's first battery company to truly realize the industrialization of cobalt-free batteries, ahead of international companies such as Tesla, Panasonic, and LG Chem.

Starting with supporting Cherry Cat, the installation of Honeycomb Energy's cobalt-free batteries has begun to accelerate. At present, it has been designated by many domestic automobile customers, and the promotion of international first-tier automobile companies is also proceeding simultaneously.

In terms of cobalt-free battery product planning, Honeycomb Energy has launched a total of 4 products on the H platform and E platform, which can cover all models from A00 to B+, and support a range of 400+ to 800+ kilometers. In terms of the production capacity planning of cobalt-free batteries, they will mainly be produced at the Ma'anshan base before 2022, and the full production capacity is expected to be 2.2GWh.

Taking Honeycomb Energy's cobalt-free battery as a window to observe the development of the industry, combined with the latest trends of global automakers and battery companies at this stage, it is not difficult to draw the following conclusions:

First, in the TWh era, getting rid of the shortage of core resources is becoming more urgent, and it has also become the layout direction of global battery companies.

Power batteries have entered a new industrial cycle and are moving into the TWh era. With the large-scale release of production capacity, the shortage of core resources is becoming more and more urgent, especially the shortage of cobalt resources. Whether it is the cobalt-free battery deployed by Honeycomb Energy or the sodium-ion battery launched by CATL, the purpose is to get rid of the shortage of core resources.

The world's cobalt reserves are currently only 7.1 million tons, while China's cobalt reserves are about 80,000 tons, accounting for only about 1% of the world's reserves. In the tide of global electrification, the scarcity of cobalt resources will seriously threaten the security of the electric vehicle supply chain.

The mass production of Honeycomb Energy's cobalt-free batteries will help the global power battery industry, especially the Chinese power battery industry, to get rid of its long-term dependence on cobalt resources and avoid it hindering the large-scale development of new energy vehicles . At the same time, by removing cobalt, it will also help to significantly reduce the cost of power batteries.

It is foreseeable that after Honeycomb Energy's cobalt-free batteries go into mass production, more companies will join the cobalt-free battery camp. In the next few years, the global installed capacity of cobalt-free batteries is expected to increase significantly.

Second, the mass production of cobalt-free batteries by Honeycomb Energy indicates that the evolution of global power battery technology is bidding farewell to the "Japan-South Korea-China" transfer path, and China is becoming a "new high ground" for global battery innovation.

For a long time, the basic innovation and core patents of battery materials have been in the hands of Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States. Although China's lithium battery industry leads the world in scale, it has always lagged behind in basic material innovation.

In the past two years, technologies such as LFP batteries and CTP batteries that have been proven in the Chinese market have become the choice of international automakers and are penetrating into the global market on a larger scale.

Honeycomb Energy's cobalt-free batteries were the first in the world to achieve mass production, ahead of global companies such as Tesla, Panasonic, and LG. Honeycomb Energy also innovated with basic originality, and its cobalt-free batteries have obtained 69 Chinese patents and 46 international patents, making Chinese lithium battery companies achieve innovative breakthroughs in basic material research and development.

In the next few years, relying on the innovation and breakthroughs of leading enterprises, China will have the strength and confidence to confront international rivals head-on in terms of underlying battery patents.

Industry analysts believe that in the new round of industrial cycle, the Chinese team represented by CATL, Honeycomb Energy and others is becoming the largest base for global battery technology innovation. This is reflected not only in the research and development and innovation of basic materials, but also in the iteration and improvement of processes and manufacturing in the industrialization process.

This innovation will further benefit the world and provide technological empowerment for the electrification of global transportation and the transformation of energy systems.

Third, innovative battery technology products are becoming an important support point for the appeal and influence of electric vehicle brands. Whether or not electric vehicles can continue to innovate in the field of battery technology will become the core focus of automakers and C-end users, and will also become an important criterion for automakers to select battery suppliers.

Since 2020, whether it is BYD's blade battery, GAC New Energy 's magazine battery, Dongfeng Lantu's "three-no battery", or Tesla's 4680 battery, Volkswagen's unified Cell, General Motors' Ultium battery, etc., they all not only use power batteries as core components for electrification, but also as an important "selling point" to build brand influence and product competitiveness in the C-end market.

The ORA Cherry Cat chose the cobalt-free battery from Honeycomb Energy and also considered it as part of its product appeal.

Industry analysts believe that, like the engine in the era of fuel vehicles, the performance of power batteries plays a vital role in electric vehicles and has become a key criterion for consumers when choosing to buy. For power battery companies, whether they have differentiated battery performance and brand influence that affects the minds of users will become an important reference for car companies to choose suppliers.

In this sense, the demonstration of innovation and building of brand influence by power battery companies will become increasingly critical in the upcoming market competition.