Solid-state lithium batteries will be the main direction, and the Korean giants will enter the battle!

　　Since last year, there has been a lot of news about new lithium battery technology. Solid-state batteries, sodium batteries, and lithium metal batteries are among the most popular battery technologies, and many related companies have set foot in them. Among them, the companies that deploy solid-state battery technology are the most active, and there have been frequent reports of mass production and trial implementation recently.

　　Recently, South Korea's Posco Group and ProLogium Technology signed an agreement to jointly develop the core materials used in the new generation of batteries.

　　The agreement shows that POSCO Group will invest in Propower Technology and establish a long-term strategic partnership. The two parties will cooperate in the development and manufacture of negative electrode, positive electrode and solid electrolyte materials that meet the requirements of Propower Technology's exclusive solid-state battery. Based on the results of material development, the two parties will work together towards a priority supply agreement.

　　Before investing in ProLogium Technology, POSCO Group had the intention of laying out solid-state batteries. Earlier this year, the company established Posco JK Solid Solution to advance its ability to develop next-generation battery materials.

　　Previously, Li Jingxie, head of the battery materials division of POSCO Group, publicly stated that POSCO plans to produce 605,000 tons of battery cathode materials, 322,000 tons of anode materials, and 300,000 tons of lithium by 2030. At the same time, the company plans to increase sales in the rechargeable battery material business to 41 trillion won by 2030, based on an investment of 25 trillion won.

　　At present, Posco is preparing to study high-capacity anode materials and silicon anode materials for solid-state batteries.

　　According to the data, ProLogium Technology mainly focuses on silicon anode solid-state battery, lithium metal anode and bipolar technology. In 2012, ProLogium Technology has developed solid-state batteries, and in 2013, ProLogium Technology has realized the commercial mass production of solid-state lithium batteries in consumer lithium batteries.

　　In 2019, ProLogium Technology cooperated with Weilai to customize the production of "MAB" solid-state battery packs (semi-solid-state).

　　At present, ProLogium Technology has maintained good cooperative relations with FAW, Tianji, NIO, AIWAYS and VinFast, a Vietnamese car company. In terms of production capacity, in 2021, the company's semi-solid-state battery production capacity will reach 1GWh, and it plans to achieve mass production of all-solid-state batteries by 2024.

　　Not long ago, ProLogium Technology also received an investment of nearly 100 million euros from Mercedes-Benz, and the two sides signed a technical cooperation agreement. The two parties will jointly develop solid-state battery cells for electric vehicles. The first Mercedes-Benz test vehicles equipped with this co-developed solid-state battery will be launched in the next few years, and the solid-state battery technology will also be installed in passenger cars in the next five years.

　　Public information shows that by 2025, Mercedes-Benz will realize that 50% of its vehicles are plug-in hybrid or pure electric vehicles, and plans to achieve full electrification in 2030. This year, Mercedes-Benz will launch eight new energy products to the Chinese market one after another.

　　SES Power believes that solid-state batteries will be one of the next mainstream battery technologies and one of the new battery types that are closest to mass production. Although SES Power still uses lithium batteries, especially lithium iron phosphate batteries, as the main R&D and manufacturing direction, we have products with a good reputation, such as square aluminum lithium iron phosphate batteries using EVE, CATL, and BYD. 12V200Ah, 12V300Ah, 48V100Ah, 60V100Ah, 120V300Ah energy storage system modules, these products are almost all standardized and modularized, all integrate RS485, CAN and other communication protocols, support remote monitoring and operation, which can ensure system compatibility, high-speed, reliable.

　　From the production and application of solid-state batteries, it can be seen that the industrial chain of solid-state batteries is roughly similar to that of liquid lithium batteries, both of which are composed of upstream raw materials, equipment, midstream battery manufacturing and downstream new energy vehicles, energy storage and consumer electronics.

　　Among them, among the liquid lithium battery manufacturers that lay out solid-state batteries, Ganfeng Lithium has quickly made an industrialized layout.

　　In 2018, Ganfeng Lithium officially launched the pilot line construction project of 100 million Wh solid-state lithium battery. The project was proposed again in the 2020 annual report, indicating that the project had been invested in and completed in 2019.

　　On May 16 this year, Ganfeng Lithium Industry stated in an investor relations event that the planned 2GWH first-generation solid-state battery capacity is expected to be gradually released this year.

　　Before the production capacity was released, Ganfeng Lithium had already received orders for solid-state batteries. In July last year, it was reported that the technical center of Dongfeng Company officially signed a contract with Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Battery, and the two parties negotiated cooperation on the demonstration operation of solid-state batteries, and signed an agreement on the demonstration and promotion of solid-state battery E70 models.

　　As the solid-state battery production lines of various companies are gradually completed and put into production, we have made a big step forward from the goal of solid-state battery industrialization. Especially in the case that liquid lithium batteries have gradually been unable to meet the growing requirements for safety and high energy density, the industrialization process of solid-state batteries will be further accelerated.