GAC Aian: Extensive layout of battery technology route, possessing core capabilities of “three electrics”

In the past September, GAC Aian's new car sales reached 51,596 units, a year-on-year increase of 72%, once again setting a single-month sales record; from January to September this year, GAC Aian's cumulative sales reached 350,986 units, a year-on-year increase of 93%, and BYD and Tesla form the "BAT" in the field of electric vehicles (Note: BYD, Aian, Tesla).

In 2017, at the beginning of GAC Group's new energy layout for the "New Four Modernizations", it established GAC New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd. (the predecessor of GAC Aion). It developed the new energy vehicle business with a high starting point and forward-looking planning, and established the country's first pure electric vehicle manufacturer. It has a dedicated factory and has built a leading core R&D team and laboratory for power batteries, motors and electronic controls to continuously enhance the core technologies and capabilities of controlling the "three electricity". In recent years, GAC Aian has made endless innovations in battery materials, structures, systems, etc., achieving technological breakthroughs in electric vehicles with high safety, long range, and long life, which has also promoted the sales of its new energy vehicles to rise. .

Recently, the research team of "New Ecology·New Value - 2023 New Energy Battery Industry Chain Research Activity" conducted by the Power Battery Application Branch of the China Chemical and Physical Power Supply Industry Association and Battery China Network came to GAC Aion New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd. Co., Ltd. (referred to as "GAC Aian"), conducted on-site research and visited enterprises. Zhang Yu, Secretary-General of the Power Battery Application Branch, and his party met with Dr. Li Jin, Director of the Battery R&D Department of GAC Aion R&D Center and other company leaders, to discuss power battery materials and technological innovation, next-generation battery technology trends, collaborative R&D of technologies between car companies and battery companies, and Extensive and in-depth exchanges were conducted on topics such as cooperation, GAC Aian's battery research and development layout, GAC Aian's new energy vehicle development and other topics.

It is reported that as the strategic core carrier of GAC Group’s development of intelligent connected new energy vehicles, GAC Aian took the lead in establishing the “EV (pure electric) + ICV (intelligent connected)” technology route in China after its establishment, and built the country’s first A dedicated new energy pure electric factory. After six years of development, GAC Aian has become the world's leading new energy vehicle company, with two factories and an annual production capacity of 400,000 vehicles. The average annual compound growth rate exceeds 120%, and its production and sales rank among the top three in the Chinese market.

Up to now, GAC Aian has taken the lead in building a new energy brand matrix with a complete system layout in China. The products cover different price ranges and car model consumer groups, and three of them have firmly ranked first in the market segment. In addition, GAC Aion’s high-end smart supercar Haopu Hyper SSR is priced at over one million yuan, taking the lead in kicking off China’s new energy vehicles’ entry into the high-end market.

Simultaneously with the advancement of vehicle models and products, GAC Aian is also actively developing its in-depth layout in the three electric fields.

During the discussion, the research team learned that GAC Aian currently has established two major R&D systems: GAC Research Institute and GAC Aian R&D system. GAC Research Institute is responsible for vehicle development, and GAC Aian R&D is responsible for EV exclusive capabilities + ICV application layer. ability.

According to reports, GAC Aian has two major centers, including an R&D center and a vehicle technology center. It has a full-process EV R&D system and has leading core capabilities in batteries, motors, electronic controls, as well as demand definition, application layer, and big data applications.

In terms of battery technology innovation, the Battery Research Institute under GAC Aion has laid out multi-material system routes such as ternary lithium battery technology, lithium iron phosphate battery technology and cobalt-free battery technology routes.

In terms of ternary lithium battery technology, GAC Aion has innovatively developed technologies such as graphene fast-charging batteries and sponge silicon anode batteries, which have been mass-produced and applied. Solid-state batteries have been in-depth research and development.

According to reports, its battery products add graphene conductive agent to the ternary lithium cathode, which conducts electricity quickly, can be charged in 5 minutes, and has a battery life of 207 kilometers; the sponge silicon negative electrode sheet battery technology adds nano-silicon composite materials to the graphite negative electrode, improving the battery Energy density, its supporting model has become the first model to be announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology with a driving range of over 1,000 kilometers.

In terms of cobalt-free battery technology, the Battery Research Institute of GAC Aian is developing 4.85V high-voltage cobalt-free battery technology. It plans to use new lithium nickel manganese oxide cathode materials and high-voltage electrolytes, which may solve the problem of dependence on imported cobalt raw materials.

In terms of the lithium iron phosphate battery technology route, GAC Aion has innovatively applied microcrystalline lithium iron battery technology and added microcrystalline cathode materials to break through the energy density bottleneck of lithium iron batteries, reaching 210Wh/kg, an increase of 15%, with better low-temperature and fast charging performance. good.

At the battery system level, GAC Aion has launched magazine battery system safety technology. By using heat-resistant battery cells, strong insulation layers, three-dimensional cooling systems, battery management systems, etc., it has achieved a high level of ternary lithium batteries that will not catch fire when punctured. security goals.

At the same time, in terms of product launch, GAC Aian is also actively participating in the production capacity layout of self-developed batteries. In October last year, GAC Aian announced that Inpai Battery Technology Co., Ltd. was jointly invested by GAC Aian, GAC Passenger Vehicles, and GAC Trading, and controlled by GAC Aian. The company will invest 10.9 billion yuan in the GAC Intelligent Connected New Energy Vehicle Industrial Park in Panyu District, Guangzhou, and plans to build a battery project with an annual output of 36GWh. The goal is to build the largest power battery + energy storage battery project in Guangzhou and fill the gap between research and production in Guangzhou. There is a gap in the integrated battery industry.

In addition, GAC Aian has also made extensive arrangements in the industrial chain ecology of electric drives, charging stations, and battery swap stations.

During the discussion, Zhang Yu, secretary-general of the Power Battery Application Branch, exchanged views with the relevant person in charge of GAC Aian on the development of the new energy vehicle industry, market structure, power battery technology innovation, battery layout of car companies, etc., and discussed the development of the Power Battery Application Branch. The history, main functions, and key work of the branch were briefly introduced.