5G to boost consumer batteries

SHANGHAI, Jun 10 (SMM) – Consumer batteries, which are generally used to power smaller portable electronics such as mobile phones, are likely to receive a boost from the 5G wave.

China on June 6 granted 5G commercial licenses to four domestic companies.

The much-anticipated technology, which will greatly enhance the speed, coverage and responsiveness of wireless networks, is set to significantly expand the consumer electronics device market, and grow demand for consumer batteries, SMM believes.

The cell phone market, a typical consumer device, is poised to benefit from the telecommunication technology development, as China’s output of cell phones grew more than 20% in the year of the inception of 3G and 4G.

With the further development of 5G technology across the country, China’s production of handsets is estimated to reach 1.65 billion units and 1.7 billion units in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The share of 5G models is expected to climb to 10% by 2021.

This would stem the downturn across the market, which has been vexed by market saturation and weak replacement demand.    

Data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed that mobile phone shipments in China dropped 11.9% from a year ago to stand at 76.93 million units in the quarter ended March 2019.

Shipments of 4G phones dropped 10.5% year on year to 73.32 million units, and those of 2G and 3G models were 3.57 million units and 45,000 units, respectively.

Given the timing of the issuance of licenses for commercial use, telecom operators are expected to focus on the construction of 5G base stations in the rest of the year. High prices for 5G phones are likely to offer little support to consumption this year

SMM kept its 2019 forecasts for mobile phone shipments unchanged at 1.64 billion units.

Worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to stand at 1.39 billion units in 2019, according to forecasts from research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) reported last month. Shipments of 5G phones would account for 0.5%, or 6.7 million units.

Lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) batteries are widely used in smartphones, which require high energy density and charging speed and allow high costs.

In the face of 5G era, consumer battery producers are committed into the research and development of high-voltage LCO materials. Leading Chinese battery companies, such as Shanshan Technology and Xiamen Tungsten, have put LCO battery of 4.45V into mass production.