9 trillion US dollars! Semi-solid-state batteries leverage the "super" market

Semi-solid-state batteries are likely to become the "most popular thing" this year.

Semi-solid batteries can break through the energy density ceiling of liquid lithium batteries, easily exceeding 300Wh/kg, and can also take into account existing equipment production lines, allowing solid-state batteries to be "brought down to earth" in advance. So far, automakers such as SAIC, GAC, FAW, Dongfeng, Weilai, and Changan have or are about to mass-produce semi-solid-state battery models.

At the same time, a super large market different from new energy vehicles, with a scale of 9 trillion US dollars (about 6.5 trillion yuan), is also being leveraged by semi-solid-state batteries.

"The company's condensed matter battery has an energy density of up to 500Wh/kg. We are currently cooperating in the development of a civil electric manned aircraft project, implementing aviation-grade standards and tests to meet aviation-grade safety and quality requirements." CATL recently stated on an interactive platform. Zeng Yuqun once pointed out that "compared with all-solid-state batteries, our condensed matter batteries can be mass-produced faster and achieve both high specific energy and high safety."

From cars running on the ground, ships swimming in the water, to aircraft flying in the sky, the application scenarios of power batteries are constantly expanding. Battery China noticed that in addition to CATL, many battery giants including EVE Energy, Farasis Energy, Lishen Battery, Zhengli New Energy, and Guoxuan High-tech have also positioned themselves in the layout of semi-solid batteries in the aviation field, and the market was filled with smoke for a while.

01

Many battery giants have taken their place

The low-altitude economy represented by eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) has been a hot topic in recent years. The "Outline for the Development of Green Aviation Manufacturing Industry (2023-2035)" jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments proposes to accelerate the application of innovative products such as eVTOL for application scenarios such as urban air transportation, emergency rescue, and logistics transportation, and create a new economic growth pole.

From the perspective of market prospects, the vastness of eVTOL is like the stars and the sea. According to Morgan Stanley's forecast, the global eVTOL market size will reach US$55 billion by 2030, exceed US$1 trillion by 2040, and reach US$9 trillion by 2050.

"Battery performance is the key bottleneck restricting the development of eVTOL. Batteries used in low-altitude flight scenarios need to meet both higher energy density and safety requirements." Ping An Securities pointed out in a research report that the power required for eVTOL vertical takeoff is 10 to 15 times that of ground travel, which places extremely high demands on the battery's energy density.

So far, most of the batteries developed by battery manufacturers for low-altitude flight scenarios are semi-solid batteries. Industry organizations said that the current energy density of eVTOL batteries has reached 285Wh/kg, which is close to the upper limit of the energy density of liquid batteries. (Semi) solid batteries may be the battery technology that is closest to the needs of eVTOL.

Many battery companies have already made plans. In May last year, Zhengli New Energy was the first in the industry to launch the Zhengli Aviation Battery for the electric aviation field. Through continuous optimization of the material system and battery cell design, the energy density of the Zhengli Aviation Battery developed by Zhengli New Energy has reached 320Wh/kg; while taking into account the high energy density, the battery can still meet the 12C high rate discharge performance at 20% SOC.

Earlier this year, Lishen Battery announced the completion of the development of a semi-solid battery with an energy density of 402Wh/kg, mainly targeting ultra-long-range mid-to-high-end electric vehicles, as well as eVTOL and other fields. Prior to this, Lishen Battery had developed or applied a number of high-energy density batteries such as 310-360Wh/kg, mainly targeting ultra-long-range electric vehicles, consumer drones, flying cars and eVTOL and other fields.

In April this year, EHang Intelligent announced that it had obtained the unmanned manned aircraft system production license issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. This is the first production license in the eVTOL field in the world. It is understood that Guoxuan High-tech has previously signed an agreement with EHang Intelligent to customize and develop power battery solutions for its unmanned eVTOL products that meet the airworthiness standards of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

"The company's next-generation semi-solid products have higher energy density and are suitable for the emerging field of low-altitude flight." Farasis Energy recently stated that the company has cooperated and supplied batteries with overseas and domestic customers in the field of manned aircraft, and is actively communicating with several potential customers in China. It is reported that the energy density of the eVTOL battery cell and system equipped with Farasis Energy's power battery has exceeded 280Wh/kg and 230Wh/kg respectively.

Yiwei Lithium Energy also stated that the company has been in the field of eVTOL batteries for a long time and has cooperated with a foreign company for three years of research. It has delivered sample A products and is assisting customers in obtaining certification for relevant aviation systems. It is reported that Yiwei Lithium Energy can achieve an energy density of 330Wh/Kg and a cycle life of more than 2,000 times based on a 50Ah soft-pack semi-solid battery.

02

Towards higher energy density

Compared with new energy vehicle power batteries, aviation power batteries have higher performance requirements. The "Implementation Plan for Innovation and Application of General Aviation Equipment (2024-2030)" issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China has given clear development goals for the performance of aviation batteries: promoting the mass production of 400Wh/kg-level aviation lithium battery products and achieving application verification of 500Wh/kg-level aviation lithium battery products.

"In order to achieve breakthroughs of 400Wh/kg and 500Wh/kg in the future, the entire positive electrode iteration direction is moving towards high nickel, ultra-high nickel or lithium-manganese-rich. The negative electrode direction is bound to develop from graphite to silicon carbon and then to lithium metal." Zhou Lisha, co-founder and CEO of Anhui Mengwei, pointed out.

According to the technological development trend of energy density, aviation batteries in the future will inevitably transform from semi-solid to all-solid and lithium metal batteries. EVE Energy said that the company's next-generation battery technology routes include solid-state batteries, lithium metal batteries, etc. The company's lithium metal batteries have achieved an energy density of 450Wh/kg. It is reported that Anhui Mengwei's lithium metal battery has an energy density of more than 500Wh/kg and has been used in a variety of electric aviation scenarios.

As for the application of all-solid-state batteries, the industry generally believes that it will take several years for large-scale commercialization to be achieved. CATL said that at this stage, there are still scientific problems in all-solid-state batteries that have not been solved. Although the company has made solid-state battery samples, the relevant indicators are still a long way from commercialization. All-solid-state batteries may not be mass-produced until after 2030.