Lithium technology is now a "big move"! GM, SAIC, SK, Tianqi Lithium Industry and other superfactories have made bets on the landing of the mixed lithium metal battery super factory.

Recently, SES, a developer and manufacturer of hybrid lithium-metal batteries, has released Apollo lithium-metal batteries with a capacity of 107Ah. At the same time, SES announced that it is building a new super factory in Jiading, Shanghai, with a total area of 30000 square meters, which is scheduled to be completed in 2023 with a production capacity of 1GWh.

In addition, a reporter from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily learned that SES is working with General Motors and Hyundai to launch a sample of automotive-grade lithium-metal battery A next year, and officially start commercial mass production of lithium-metal battery in 2025.

What is a hybrid lithium metal battery?

According to Hu Qichao, founder and CEO of SES, there are two main types of solid-state batteries: solid-state lithium-ion batteries and solid-state lithium-metal batteries. "Hybrid lithium-metal batteries are between lithium-ion batteries and solid-state lithium-metal batteries, taking into account the advantages of both."

In terms of products, the Apollo lithium metal battery released by SES has a capacity of 107A, a weight of 0.982kg, and an energy density of 417Wh/kg and 935Wh/L.

In terms of manufacturing process, Hu Qichao, founder and CEO of SES, told Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that "from cathode and diaphragm raw materials to production process, hybrid lithium metal batteries are consistent with lithium ion batteries." At present, the mainstream cathode materials such as lithium iron phosphate, ternary lithium and even quaternary lithium for electric vehicles can be used in mixed lithium metal batteries. "

It is worth noting that the biggest difference between hybrid lithium-metal batteries and lithium-ion batteries lies in the anode materials. "in hybrid lithium-metal batteries, the negative electrode has been replaced by ultra-wide and ultra-thin lithium metal from the graphite of traditional ternary lithium batteries, which makes hybrid lithium-metal batteries have the characteristics of solid-state batteries with higher energy density, lighter weight and safer at the same time." Hu Qichao said.

Senior industry insiders told Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that "according to the general understanding, lithium metal as a negative electrode requires the matching use of solid-state electrolytes." Because the dendritic problem of lithium metal can not be solved when using the existing electrolyte, there is a great safety risk. In my opinion, mixed lithium metal may be a mixture of lithium metal and other materials used as anode materials, because the general mixing can not solve the lithium dendrite problem. So SES emphasizes that it produces its own electrolyte materials, which is estimated to be very different from the existing electrolytes. "

In response, Hu Qichao, founder and CEO of SES, explained to Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily: "Dendrite is indeed a very core problem of lithium metal, and our solution is mainly divided into three steps: first, the high concentration of electrolyte solvent changes the shape of dendrite, making it difficult for it to break through the diaphragm; second, the negative electrode has a protective layer; and third, the software will carry out early warning to comprehensively solve the problem from a systematic point of view."

Progress in layout of Lithium Metal Battery Industry

Take SES, for example, which was founded in 2012 and is a comprehensive manufacturer of lithium-metal batteries. The company, formerly known as SolidEnergy Systems, is headquartered in Singapore and has related operations in Boston, Shanghai and Seoul.

A reporter from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily learned that in July this year, the company announced that it had reached a final merger agreement with Ivanhoe Capital acquisition Company, which will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in December in the form of SPAC.

The main investors in SES include: South Korean SK Group, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Temasek, Tianqi Lithium, Xiangfeng Investment Group, SAIC and so on.

In fact, the direction of lithium metal battery technology is not new, and related research is being carried out at home and abroad. It's just that there may be no obvious progress among domestic enterprises at present. " A senior industry analyst told Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily.

A reporter from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily noted that recently, the layout of the domestic lithium-metal battery industry seems to be accelerating.

On November 3, media reported that China's first lithium-metal battery production line has been completed, with an output value of 30 million yuan in half a year, and the R & D investor is Beijing Jinyu Xineng. At present, the battery of Jinyu Xin can be used in 3C field is under continuous optimization, and the power battery is in the stage of development and trial production. It is reported that its 420Wh/Kg has completed a product of type A, which can increase the range of electric vehicles to 1200 kilometers.

In addition, the listed companies related to lithium metal batteries are: China Baoan, Zhengtai Electric Appliances and so on.

What is the prospect of hybrid lithium metal batteries?

In recent years, there is no shortage of power battery technology: in addition to mixed lithium metal battery technology, there are 4680 electrodeless ear large cylindrical battery technology, 150kWh solid-state battery technology, graphene battery, sodium ion battery and so on. By contrast, what are the prospects for hybrid lithium-metal batteries?

Liu Wei, partner of Jinyu Xineng and CMO, once predicted that "in the next 2-3 years, the lithium metal battery system will change the current battery pattern."

Cao Guangping, an independent researcher on New Energy and Intelligent Network Automotive, once said, "Hybrid lithium metal batteries belong to mixed solid-state lithium-ion batteries. This kind of battery with high energy density is a development trend, especially as a power battery, which is very light in weight." it is easy to be accepted by the electric vehicle industry. "

However, it still takes a process for hybrid lithium-metal batteries to replace existing lithium-ion batteries, and it still takes time to break through the raw materials and production processes such as oxide films, high concentration electrolytes and lithium metal ribbons. Lithium metal consumption is large, if the future lithium resources are not enough, it is difficult to provide, I am afraid to recycle its negative lithium metal. Synchronize can carry out the development of this kind of battery material recycling technology, consider the problem of material cost reduction many times from the laboratory stage, and avoid walking into the cul-de-sac of battery recycling that 'there are not enough resources and we can't reduce the cost'. " Cao Guangping said.

At the same time, Hu Qichao, founder and CEO of SES, also told Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily: "from a production point of view, there is more than 60% overlap between lithium metal batteries and lithium-ion batteries." However, in the research and development of anode materials, very few enterprises in the world are able to mass produce ultra-thin and ultra-wide lithium metal materials. In addition, there are a series of details that need to be improved, such as from quality control to production process management. " And this has also become a difficult problem that the whole industry is facing at present.