Ningde era's attitude towards solid state batteries became ambiguous.

Recently, Wu Kai, chief scientist of Ningde Times, revealed that Ningde Times has the opportunity to produce solid-state batteries in small quantities in 2027. He also stressed that if the maturity of all solid state batteries is represented by 1-9 figures, the current maturity of Ningde Era is at the level of 4, and the goal is to reach the level of 7-8 by 2027.

Image source: Samsung SDI

More than a month ago, Zeng Yuqun, the chairman of Ningde Times, also believed that the commercialization of solid state batteries was a distant thing. At the end of March, Zeng Yuqun said in an interview with the media that the current technical effect of solid state batteries was "still not good enough", and there were safety problems, which were years away from commercialization.

Within one month, the attitude of Ningde Times towards solid state batteries changed from "a long distance of commercialization" to "the opportunity of small batch production". The subtle changes during this period have to make people think about the reasons behind.

In recent years, the heat of solid state batteries has soared. Compared with the previous era when enterprises queued for goods and power batteries were in short supply, battery capacity is now in excess and the growth rate of Ningde era is slowing down. In the face of the trend of industrial reform, the strong position of Ningde era has become a thing of the past.

Under the strong marketing rhythm of solid-state batteries, "Ning Wang" began to panic?

　　 Marketing Wind Blows to "Solid State Battery"

As we all know, the change of electrolyte is the core of moving from liquid battery to semi-solid and all solid battery. From liquid battery to solid battery, it is necessary to change chemical materials to improve energy density, safety performance, etc., but it is not easy in terms of technology, cost or manufacturing process. It is widely predicted in the industry that the solid state battery can really realize mass production by 2030.

Today, the heat of solid state batteries is abnormally high, and there is a great momentum of getting on the bus in advance.

On April 8, Zhiji Auto released a new pure electric model Zhiji L6 (Configuration |Inquiry) It was the first to carry the "first generation light year solid state battery". Subsequently, GAC Group announced that the all solid state battery is planned to be launched in 2026, and will be first installed on the Haobo model.

Of course, Zhiji L6 publicly claimed that it was the "first generation light year solid state battery", which also caused a lot of controversy. Its solid state battery is not a real all solid state battery. After many rounds of in-depth discussion and analysis, Li Zheng, General Manager of Qingtao Energy, finally pointed out that "this battery is actually a semi-solid battery", and the dispute gradually subsided.

Photo source: Zhiji Automobile

As the supplier of Zhiji L6 solid state battery, when Qingtao Energy clarified the truth of semi-solid state battery, another enterprise claimed to have made new progress in the field of all solid state battery. On April 9, GAC Aian Haobo announced that its 100% all solid state battery would be officially released on April 12.

However, the original scheduled product release was changed to "mass production in 2026". Such repeated publicity strategy has attracted many people in the industry to complain.

Although both enterprises played a word game in the marketing of solid-state batteries, the popularity of solid-state batteries was pushed to a climax again.

On April 2, Tailan New Energy announced that the company had made significant progress in the research and development of "vehicle scale all solid state lithium battery", and successfully prepared the world's first vehicle scale single body capacity of 120Ah, and the measured energy density of 720Wh/kg of ultra-high energy density solid state lithium metal battery, breaking the industry record of single body capacity and maximum energy density of solid state lithium battery.

On April 5, the German Society for the Promotion of Sustainable Physics and Technology announced that the German expert team had invented a full set of automatic and continuous production process of high-performance and safe solid sodium sulfur battery after nearly two years of research and development, which could make the energy density of the battery exceed 1000Wh/kg and the theoretical loading capacity of the negative electrode reach 20000Wh/kg.

In addition, from late April to now, LinkedIn New Energy and Enli Power have officially announced that the first phase project of solid state battery has been put into production. According to the previous plan of the latter, it will achieve mass production of 10GWh production line in 2026, and strive to achieve a global industrial base layout of 100+GWh by 2030 in the future.

　　 whole Solid or semi-solid? Ning Wang accelerates anxiety

Compared with liquid batteries, solid state batteries have attracted much attention because they have many significant advantages, such as high energy density, high safety, small size, wide temperature range operation, and are important representatives of the next generation of high-performance lithium batteries.

According to the content of liquid electrolyte, some people in the industry have made a clearer distinction between solid state batteries. The industry believes that the development path of solid state batteries can be roughly divided into semi-solid (5-10wt%), quasi solid (0-5wt%), all solid (0wt%) and other stages. The electrolyte used in semi-solid and quasi solid is mixed solid liquid electrolyte.

If it will take some time for all solid state batteries to get on the bus, then semi solid state batteries are already on the way.

According to incomplete statistics of Gaishi Auto, at present, more than a dozen power battery enterprises at home and abroad, including China Innovation Airlines, Honeycomb Energy, Huineng Technology, Ganfeng Lithium, Yiwei Lithium, Guoxuan High tech, have also been laying out semi-solid batteries and have made clear the boarding plan.

According to the statistics of relevant institutions, by the end of 2023, the domestic semi-solid battery capacity planning has exceeded 298GWh accumulatively, and the landing capacity is connected to 15GWh. 2024 will be an important node for the development of the solid state battery industry. It is expected to realize the large-scale loading and application of (semi) solid state batteries within the year. It is expected that the total installed capacity throughout the year will historically break the 5GWh mark.

In the face of the rapid pace of solid state batteries, the anxiety of the Ningde era began to spread. In comparison, the action of the Ningde Era in the research and development of solid state batteries is not fast. Until recently, it was late to "change its mind" and officially implement the mass production schedule of solid state batteries. The reason why Ningde Times is anxious to "explain" may be the pressure from the overall industrial structure adjustment and the slowdown of its own growth.

On April 15, Ningde Times released its financial report for the first quarter of 2024: the total revenue was 79.77 billion yuan, down 10.41% year on year; The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 10.51 billion, up 7% year on year; Non net profit deducted was 9.25 billion yuan, up 18.56% year on year.

It is worth mentioning that this is the second consecutive quarter of the Ningde Era when the operating revenue declined year-on-year. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the total revenue of Ningde Times decreased by 10% year on year. Under the circumstances that the price of power battery keeps falling, and the enterprise's share in the power battery market is difficult to improve, Ningde Times is saying goodbye to the state of rapid growth.

From another point of view, Ningde Times changed its attitude towards solid state batteries in the past, more like forced operation. When the whole battery industry falls into the background of "solid state battery carnival", if the Ningde era is still silent, or the solid state battery is still in the state of hindsight, it will inevitably leave a misunderstanding that the Ningde era is backward in the field of new technology.

　　 Ningde era response: not only solid-state batteries

The main business of Ningde Times includes four segments, namely power battery, energy storage battery, battery materials and recycling and battery mineral resources. In 2023, the power battery sector contributed 71% of the operating revenue of Ningde Times, and the energy storage battery sector accounted for nearly 15% of the operating revenue.

According to SNE Research data, in the first quarter of this year, the total installed capacity of all kinds of batteries in the world of Ningde Times was 60.1GWh, with a year-on-year growth of 31.9% and a market share of 37.9%. According to the statistics of China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, in the first quarter of 2024, Ningde Times ranked first in China with 41.31GWh of vehicle loading, with a market share of 48.93%, up from 44.42% in the same period last year.

Of course, new technology and new products have always been the key for Ningde Times to seize market share. In August 2023, Ningde Times released the Shenxing rechargeable battery in August 2023. This battery is the first lithium iron phosphate 4C rechargeable battery in the world. It uses a number of innovative technologies such as the super electronic network cathode, graphite fast ion ring, and ultra high conductivity electrolyte, and has the ability to achieve 400km endurance in 10 minutes of overcharge.

Photo source: Ningde Times

Ningde Times summarized in the financial report of the first quarter of 2024 that Shenxing batteries have begun to be delivered on a large scale. At the same time, Ningde Times released a Tianheng energy storage system that integrates "five years of zero attenuation, 6.25 MWh, multi-dimensional true security". Ningde Times believes that the enterprise still maintains an excellent position in the industry, leading technology, good demand prospects, diversified customer base and high barriers to entry.

In terms of the time of Yu Ningde, solid state battery is not the only option in the future. In addition to Shenxing battery, Ningde Times also Chery Cooperate to launch the first landing sodium ion battery model. In January of this year, Ningde Times applied for a patent entitled "cathode material of sodium ion battery and its preparation method, cathode plate, battery and electric device", which is expected to further improve the performance of sodium ion battery in terms of cost, life and low-temperature performance.

Secondly, Ningde Era is also actively expanding new tourist sources. In recent years, Ningde Times has actively expanded overseas markets. Considering the influence of geopolitical factors, Ningde Times has chosen a lighter technology licensing model as a breakthrough. Ford, GM Tesla And so on may be its potential customers.

Looking behind the marketing craze of solid state batteries, rather than saying that Ningde Times has changed from "conservative" to "active" towards solid state batteries, Ningde Times has learned to respond to market demand and is actively building the image of an advanced and forward-looking leading power battery enterprise.

Just like the declaration of Ningde Times in the brand promotion film, "Choose trams and focus on Ningde Times batteries". For Ningde Times, it doesn't matter which model users buy or which battery they choose. As long as users need it, Ningde Times can "build" it. It can be seen that in the context of rapid industrial development, we should always be close to consumers and explore user needs, and B-end leading enterprises are no exception.

(This article is from Gasgoo)