Power batteries are getting bigger and bigger!

Thanks to the continuous improvement of battery technology and the increase in mid-to-high-end new energy passenger car models, the capacity of new energy vehicle battery packs is becoming larger and larger.

Battery China has observed that recently, many popular mid-to-high-end new cars in China are equipped with "large" battery packs with a capacity of 70kWh-150kWh, and the pure electric range exceeds 600 kilometers or even 1,000 kilometers. This means that "large" battery packs have become standard for mid-to-high-end new cars, and (super) long range has also become one of the eye-catching selling points.

Based on this, the energy density of the power battery cells currently installed on vehicles is as high as about 360Wh/kg. Recently, a company has released a vehicle-grade all-solid-state battery with a single cell energy density of 720Wh/kg and a capacity of 120Ah. Industry insiders pointed out that although this all-solid-state battery has not yet been commercialized, from the perspective of the industry as a whole, with the continuous evolution of power battery technology, the new energy passenger car market is quietly changing, and the development trend of high energy density of single cells and high charge of battery packs has become the mainstream consensus of the industry.

01

New energy passenger car market pattern changes

Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that in 2023, in my country's new energy passenger vehicle market, sales of Class A vehicles reached 3.471 million units, a year-on-year increase of 45.5%, ranking first in market share; sales of Class B, C and D vehicles were 2.337 million units, 1.160 million units and 119,000 units, respectively, with year-on-year increases of 56.5%, 73.2% and 160.5%, respectively.

Although the sales volume of B, C and D class cars is lower than that of A class cars, their growth rates have surpassed those of A class cars, showing strong growth momentum.

Entering 2024, B, C, and D-class cars continue to gain momentum. From January to March, in my country's new energy passenger car market, A-class car sales were 628,000 units, a slight increase of 2.9% year-on-year; B-class car sales were 681,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 57.2%, surpassing A-class cars in sales and ranking first in market share; C and D-class car sales both increased by more than 70%.

It is worth noting that in the first three months of this year, my country's new energy passenger car market showed a pattern of A-class car sales slowing down significantly, B-class cars becoming the main force in the market, and C and D-class cars growing the fastest. In this regard, industry insiders said that the demand structure of my country's new energy passenger car market has changed. On the one hand, large-capacity battery packs help B, C, and D-class cars to continuously refresh the pure electric range, solve market pain points, and increase consumers' willingness to buy cars; on the other hand, the rapid growth in sales of B, C, and D-class cars has also driven the continuous increase in the number of large-capacity battery packaging machines, and battery companies are also increasing related research and development and layout.

02

Large-capacity battery packs are becoming a trend

Recently, a number of new mid-to-high-end new energy vehicles have announced the core parameters of their supporting battery packs, revealing some new trends in the field of power batteries this year.

In February 2024, Zeekr released a new version of the luxury hunting coupe Zeekr 001, equipped with CATL batteries. Among them, the model equipped with 100 kWh Kirin battery has a CLTC range of 750km and a maximum charging rate of 4C; the model equipped with 95kWh Shenxing battery four-wheel drive version has a CLTC range of 675km and a maximum charging rate of 5C.

At the end of March, Xiaomi SU7, positioned as a C-class luxury technology sedan, was launched. The standard version is equipped with 73.6kWh Fudi lithium iron phosphate blade battery with a CLTC range of 700km; the Pro version is equipped with 94.3kWh CATL Shenxing battery with a CLTC range of 830km; the Max version is equipped with 101kWh CATL Kirin battery with a CLTC range of 800km.

On April 3, NIO announced that its 150kWh ultra-long-range battery pack has officially entered the mass production stage and is scheduled to be officially put into use in the second quarter of this year. The longest range of NIO models equipped with this battery pack is 1,055km. The energy density of this battery cell is 360Wh/kg, and it was jointly developed by NIO and Weilan New Energy.

On April 8, SAIC Motor's super smart sedan Zhiji L6 was unveiled, equipped with Qingtao Energy's "first generation light-year solid-state battery". The battery cell has an energy density of 368Wh/Kg, the battery pack has a capacity of 130kWh, and the vehicle's CLTC range exceeds 1,000km.

Judging from the popular new cars, more and more mid-to-high-end electric cars are choosing large-capacity battery packs to meet market demand, and their power capacity generally exceeds 70kWh. Moreover, there are many models equipped with battery packs exceeding 130kWh, with a range of more than 1,000km on a single charge, and the frequency of recharging is even lower than that of fuel vehicles. Assuming a daily commuting drive of 20km, a single charge will be enough for 40-50 days of use.

03

Battery energy density is getting higher and higher, and the capacity is getting larger and larger

In recent years, leading battery companies including CATL, BYD, Guoxuan High-tech, EVE Energy, Farasis Energy, Honeycomb Energy, Ruipu Lanjun, Lishen Battery, and Xinwangda have all started to develop and upgrade large-capacity batteries to meet market demand.

CATL released the Kirin battery in 2022. Based on its third-generation CTP technology, the battery volume utilization rate exceeded 72%. The system energy density of ternary battery cells can reach 255Wh/kg, and the system energy density of lithium iron phosphate battery cells can reach 160Wh/kg; the lithium iron phosphate Shenxing battery was released in August 2023. Data shows that its energy density is between 140Wh-145Wh/kg, and the charging rate reaches 4C.

In April 2023, CATL also released a condensed matter battery with a single cell energy density of 500Wh/kg, which is planned to be used in fields such as electric aviation.

BYD launched its first generation of lithium iron phosphate blade batteries in 2020 with an energy density of 140Wh/kg. Recently, BYD revealed that it will release a new generation of blade batteries with an energy density of 190Wh/kg in August 2024, which is about 36% higher than the previous generation. The range of pure electric vehicles will exceed 1,000km.

The Qichen L600 LMFP battery released by Guoxuan High-tech in May 2023 has a single mass energy density and volume energy density of 240Wh/kg and 525Wh/L respectively, a volume grouping rate of 76%, and a system energy density of 190Wh/kg. It is reported that Guoxuan High-tech currently has the mass production capacity of 230Wh/kg energy density lithium iron phosphate cells; ternary batteries have achieved 302Wh/kg energy density cells for mass production and installation, and the high-safety semi-solid battery single cell energy density reaches 360Wh/kg. The battery pack of the supporting vehicle has a power of 160KWh and a range of over 1,000km.

The next generation battery technology routes that EVE Energy is planning include solid-state batteries and lithium metal batteries. Among them, lithium metal batteries have achieved a single energy density of 450Wh/kg and a cycle life of over 800 times. At the same time, EVE Energy adheres to the technical direction of large cylindrical and large iron lithium. In the future, mass-produced large cylindrical batteries are expected to be further improved on the basis of energy density of 280Wh/kg.

The 158Ah lithium iron phosphate power battery in Ruipu Lanjun Wending series products has a volume energy density of 450Wh/L, supporting a vehicle range of over 700km; the medium-nickel/high-nickel ternary battery can support a vehicle range of over 1000km and 1200km respectively.

Lishen Battery has achieved the development or application of a number of high energy density batteries such as 310Wh/kg-360Wh/kg, and has released its new generation of semi-solid batteries with a single cell energy density of 402Wh/kg.

In addition, its power battery prototype cells have recently made breakthroughs in parameters such as single-cell energy density.

On April 2 this year, Tailan New Energy announced that it has produced a body-sized all-solid-state battery with a vehicle-grade single cell capacity of 120Ah and an energy density of 720Wh/kg, breaking the industry record for body-sized lithium battery single cell capacity and highest energy density.

It is reported that Haobo brand under GAC Aion plans to release Haobo "all-solid-state battery" on April 12. Previously, Haobo brand's battery suppliers include Farasis Energy, EVE Energy and Sinotruk. Which battery company will the upcoming all-solid-state battery cooperate with, and what innovations and breakthroughs will it bring? The industry is also paying close attention.

At present, large-capacity battery packs are considered by the industry to be one of the engines driving the monthly penetration rate of new energy vehicles to reach 50% this year.

On the one hand, the grouping rate of power batteries currently used in mainstream applications is 60%-70%, the energy density of lithium iron phosphate battery systems is generally 100Wh/kg-160Wh/kg, and the energy density of ternary lithium-ion battery systems is 150Wh/kg-200Wh/kg. The higher energy density, larger capacity cells, and higher grouping rate systems developed by leading battery companies have continuously increased the power of battery packs at the same volume/weight, which can meet new market demands.