Why do China, Japan and South Korea's lithium battery technology belong to the leading camp?

　　The rise of battery companies has laid a certain technological foundation for China's electric vehicle revolution. However, if the electric vehicle industry is to truly catch up with Germany and surpass Japan, further technological research and timely industrialization are needed.

　　The rise of battery companies has laid a certain technological foundation for China's electric vehicle revolution. However, for the electric vehicle industry to truly catch up with Germany and surpass Japan, further technical research and timely industrialization are needed. 　　China's electric vehicle development is about to enter its tenth year. As the power battery that is the heart of electric vehicles, its industrial pattern has appeared in both ice and fire.

　　In addition to the internal reshuffle, how competitive is China's new energy vehicles in a competitive landscape where Japanese and South Korean companies are surrounded by the global market? Is there a chance to overtake in a curve? Recently, Ouyang Minggao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and executive vice chairman of the China Electric Vehicles Association, accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from Caijing, saying that China's electric vehicle technology bottom line has been formed. Refunds can be guaranteed by lithium iron phosphate batteries, and new generation lithium-ion power batteries are also available for import.

　　Lithium iron phosphate and ternary are different cathode materials for lithium batteries. The ternary lithium battery achieves a higher specific energy, but there are still problems such as safety, raw material cost, and service life. The increase in the technical threshold is to encourage technological progress, and the safety requirements for lithium-ion batteries are also higher.　　 Caijing: Ternary lithium batteries are now considered to be a mainstream power battery route. Many companies turn to the production of ternary power batteries with higher energy density and more complex technology. What is the current state of China's ternary lithium battery technology? Where is the difficulty?

　　Advantages and disadvantages of China's lithium battery technology

　　Caijing: At present, China, Japan and South Korea have the right to speak for lithium batteries in the world. How did this situation come about?

　　It is difficult for large-scale lithium battery companies to emerge in Europe and the United States, mainly because of their late start and weak industrial foundation.

　　At the same time, lithium-ion battery technology has made breakthroughs after 2007, replacing nickel-hydrogen batteries in a short period of time, making it possible to develop pure electric vehicles. Toyota's move from hybrid to fuel cell is actually to raise the technical threshold and ensure a competitive advantage.

　　China's transportation system has the foundation of electrification. High-speed rail, electric bicycles, electric public transportation, etc. have already formed the characteristics of electric travel in Chinese society. At the same time, the integration technology of pure electric vehicles is relatively small, so China is suitable for pure electric vehicles. Technical breakthroughs and application scenarios fit, this is the main reason for the rapid development of pure electricity.

　　Ouyang Minggao: China's lithium battery standards have established strict safety standards with clear indicators. The recently adopted international standards for lithium batteries have adopted Chinese standards. The safety and specific energy of lithium batteries are a contradiction. With the development of technology and process, lithium battery companies will raise the technical threshold by increasing the specific energy index. Specific energy is an important and effective baton to regulate changes in the production structure, and low-end production capacity in the market will definitely be eliminated.

　　Caijing: CATL has won large global orders from Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, and the price is 6% higher than that of LG. Why did these foreign car companies intend to buy Chinese power batteries at a higher price?

　　Ouyang Minggao: First, the product quality of CATL is comparable to LG, and sometimes even better than LG; secondly, there are no large lithium battery manufacturers in Europe; thirdly, China is the largest single market for these car companies, such as those that account for Volkswagen’s global sales. 40%; Finally, China's lithium battery industry chain is more complete than South Korea, and its industrial scale and development potential are also higher than South Korea.

　　Who can break the next generation of batteries

　　Caijing: At present, the most popular ternary cathode material is lithium-rich manganese base. Why has it become a hot spot, and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

　　Ouyang Minggao: Lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials are currently a global research hotspot. The theoretical discharge specific capacity of lithium-rich cathode materials is high, which can reach more than 400mAh/g, and the specific energy of the battery can reach more than 400 watt-hours/kg. At the same time, it can reduce the dependence on cobalt and nickel, and reduce the cost, especially cobalt. Recently, Professor Xia Dingguo of Peking University synthesized a 400mAh/g positive electrode in the laboratory, but the life of the lithium-rich manganese-based battery is relatively short.

　　At present, 300 watt-hour/kg lithium-rich manganese-based lithium batteries have been produced at home and abroad, but they have a life span of hundreds of times and cannot meet the requirements of vehicles. We need to continue to work hard. The voltage of the lithium-rich manganese base decays faster, and it is necessary to seek improvement in the material. Secondly, a lithium-rich manganese-based electrolyte with a wider voltage range is needed, such as a solid state.

　　Caijing: Is there a timetable for the industrialization of lithium-rich manganese bases?

　　Ouyang Minggao: In the national special project, the industrialization of 811 ternary lithium battery will be realized by 2020. At the same time, the lithium-rich manganese base continued to conduct in-depth basic research, because the related projects have not yet been completed, and it is currently impossible to arrive at an accurate time point for the realization of industrialization, striving for around 2025.　　The comprehensive comparison of lithium-rich materials lithium batteries that are expected to be high at that time should be comparable to, or even better than, 811, and the specific energy should be higher than 811. Durability is the key factor for comparison. If the durability can be successfully improved, lithium-rich materials will become a new type of industrialized cathode material for lithium batteries.

　　Finance: Big car companies list solid-state and all-solid-state batteries as the next R&D focus. What are the difficulties in R&D?

　　Ouyang Minggao: Although the research on solid electrolytes is already a hot spot, the core of all solid-state batteries is to solve the problem of the solid-solid interface, and liquid electrolytes still need to be added. In the next 5 to 10 years, the specific gravity of liquid electrolytes will gradually decrease, showing a trend of developing from a partial solid to a semi-solid and to an all-solid state. Even if all solid state cannot be achieved by then, it will be close to all solid state.

　　Once the all-solid state is successfully developed, it will not only have higher safety, but will also completely change the way batteries are used. Because the solid state solves the short circuit problem of the liquid battery, the batteries can be connected in series to increase the specific energy. At present, the specific energy should be increased as much as possible under the premise of ensuring durability, and solid-state batteries also have the potential for fast charging. Many related research institutions and companies in my country are studying solid-state lithium battery technology.