Major Projects Launched by Top-Tier and Startup Enterprises in Solid-State Batteries: Electrolyte and Battery Cell

SMM January 22 News:
Highlights: This week (January 16-22, 2026), the solid-state battery industry saw a flurry of developments: on one hand, there was a capital frenzy with billions of yuan pouring into capacity blueprints; on the other hand, the technical routes have yet to converge, and the path to industrialisation is fraught with uncertainties. Large enterprises such as Gotion High-tech are making substantial moves to secure their positions.

Preface: Weekly price situation, prices for traditional lithium battery materials used in solid-state batteries increased to varying degrees due to the rise in lithium chemicals prices, while silicon carbon anode prices declined. The price of lithium sulfide, a dedicated material for solid-state batteries, rose steadily due to robust demand. Prices for sulphide and oxide electrolytes decreased.

I. New Projects: New Investments in Various Locations
Projects disclosed over the past week have seen planned total investments easily exceed 20 billion yuan, with new planned capacities surpassing 20Gwh.
Leading battery giants: Gotion High-tech (Qianrui Technology) plans to produce 10kt of sulphide solid electrolyte material annually, and CALB invested 120 million yuan to enhance its solid-state battery pilot production capacity to 0.2GWh, aiming to strengthen its technological moat.
Top Science has invested 6 billion yuan in Inner Mongolia to build a 15GWh production line, while Baili Technology established a subsidiary to set up a solid-state battery material production system, entering the race from the equipment end.
Jinghe Energy, Solid State Ionic Energy, and others have successively secured tens of millions to hundreds of millions of yuan in financing, focusing on specific technology routes such as sulphides and polymers, attempting to disrupt the landscape through innovation.

II. Technical Routes: Three Paths in Parallel, Oxides Temporarily Leading in "Mass Production"
Oxide Route (Pioneers in Mass Production): Represented by Qingtao Energy, whose Chengdu Phase II project is progressing smoothly, with trial production expected by the end of 2026. This route, with its high compatibility with existing liquid battery processes and better safety, currently leads in large-scale mass production. Easpring Technology's 3,000-ton production line in Jintan also covers both oxides and sulphides, reflecting a pragmatic approach to industrialisation.
Sulphide Route (Performance Disruptor): Gotion High-tech's 10kt plan and Firm-Lithium's R&D efforts represent a direct assault on the challenges of sulphide mass production. Enpower and SEMCORP's collaboration aims to accelerate breakthroughs through industry chain synergy (providing sulphide electrolytes).
Polymer Route (Breakthrough in Specific Scenarios): Represented by Solid State Ionic Energy (Wuhan) and UK-based Ilika, the former has secured hundreds of millions of yuan in financing to build production lines, while the latter has won medical battery orders with its Stereax technology, achieving commercialization in high-value, small-volume medical devices, demonstrating the possibility of differentiated survival.

III. Supply Chain: Collaboration as the Mainstream
Deep Integration of Materials and Batteries: Farasis' cooperation with BASF Shanshan has delved into jointly overcoming the process bottlenecks in the large-scale preparation of solid electrolytes. This is no longer a simple buyer-seller relationship but a joint R&D effort to define the next generation of material standards.
Cross-Technical Integration: The collaboration between Enpower (batteries) and SEMCORP (separator) is highly symbolic. The traditional separator giant is extending its core capabilities in film processing to provide "semi-solid separators and all-solid sulphide electrolytes," attempting to reposition its core value in the industry transformation.
Comprehensive Patent Layout: GEM has applied for a patent on single-crystal cobalt-free lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials, specifically noting its suitability for solid-state batteries. This indicates that from upstream material giants to midstream battery manufacturers, the battle for core intellectual property in the solid-state era has fully commenced.

IV. Commercialization: Installation in Vehicles by Chery Exeed and Others
Solid-state batteries still require extensive, long-term vehicle-grade validation for their cycle life under extreme temperatures, power characteristics, and long-term interface stability. The installation plans (2026) by automakers such as Chery Exeed will be the crucial first round of major tests.

According to SMM forecasts, all-solid-state battery shipments will reach 13.5 GWh by 2028, while semi-solid-state battery shipments will reach 160 GWh. Global lithium-ion battery demand is projected to reach approximately 2,800 GWh by 2030, with the EV sector's lithium-ion battery demand showing a CAGR of around 11% from 2024 to 2030, ESS lithium-ion battery demand at a CAGR of about 27%, and consumer electronics lithium battery demand at a CAGR of roughly 10%. Global solid-state battery penetration is estimated at about 0.1% in 2025, with all-solid-state battery penetration expected to reach around 4% by 2030, and global solid-state battery penetration potentially approaching 10% by 2035.

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