Demand 480GWh in 2025! Tesla helped the big cylindrical battery return to the track 46 family "king demeanor" the first appearance?

With Tesla's global sales surge, cylindrical batteries have once again become a hot technology discussed in the industry.

At the China Electric vehicle hundred people Forum held on March 27, the heads of a number of electric battery companies gave their own judgments on the development of large cylindrical batteries. "the big cylindrical battery has become the king of the industry and has begun to show its dawn." Liu Jincheng, chairman of Yiwei LiNeng, said to this.

Key words of safe and economical large cylindrical battery

According to the different packaging methods, power batteries can be divided into cylindrical, square and soft bags and other types. The so-called large cylindrical battery refers to the cylindrical battery with a diameter of 46 mm, which is higher in volume and energy density than the small cylindrical battery with a diameter of 18 mm and 21 mm. As a manufacturer of large cylindrical batteries, Yiwei Lithium Energy, Bick Battery and Panasonic are all optimistic about their future development.

"the structure of single cell is constantly innovating, mainly to reduce the weight of accessories." Ouyang Minggao, vice president of the China Electric vehicle Association of 100 and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, also highlighted, "Cylindrical batteries, represented by Tesla, from 18650 to 21700 and then to 4680, to increase unit capacity and specific energy."

Not only the monomer capacity and specific energy, in Liu Jincheng's view. The large cylindrical ternary battery has higher system safety and no thermal diffusion. "from the definition of market requirements, we think it (large cylindrical battery) can be absolutely safe."

One of the indicators of "absolute safety" mentioned by Liu Jincheng refers to the characteristics of structural stability and zero stress in the whole life cycle of large cylinders. Square battery and soft package battery will produce internal stress and expansion force due to expansion in the process of their life, and the internal structure of the battery will change accordingly. "(square and soft-pack batteries) actually become different things from the beginning of the battery to the end of life. Only cylindrical batteries remain unchanged from the beginning to the end of battery use. " Liu Jincheng said, "Square shell batteries and soft bag batteries will also be liked by customers in the market, and there will be certain growth opportunities, but from a mainstream point of view, large cylindrical batteries will be the mainstream route."

Similar to Liu Jincheng's point of view, Fan Wenguang, vice president of Bick Battery, also mentioned the safety of large cylindrical batteries. "in terms of product performance, the cylindrical cell is the safest among several mainstream forms, and the high safety limit enables it to support chemical systems with higher energy density. At the same time, the cylindrical cell is small in size, convenient for thermal management, can make flexible use of special-shaped space, and the highly standardized shape is conducive to platform and iteration. " Fan Wenguang told reporters that in terms of the difficulty of industrialization, cylindrical batteries have the longest history and a high degree of standardization, and have achieved a more unified standard in the industry. "at the same time, the automation level of cylindrical battery production is also higher than that of other batteries, which ensures the high efficiency of cylindrical battery production and the consistency of single cells. On the other hand, it also reduces the cost of production. "

46 series battery may become mainstream under Tesla effect

In fact, cylindrical batteries, with so many obvious advantages, will be on the edge of the market until 2021. Data show that cylindrical cells accounted for less than 10% of China's power battery load in 2020, and only 23% in the global market, significantly lower than square and soft packages. However, with the surge in Tesla's global sales, cylindrical batteries gradually regained some market share, and cylindrical batteries became famous again after Tesla launched 4680 batteries.

As the main supplier of Tesla batteries, Panasonic President Nan Jiexionggui said again at the 100 people Forum that 4680 batteries will become the mainstream of cylindrical batteries in the future.

Fan Wenguang also mentioned the relationship between the 4680 cylindrical battery and Tesla. "We probably introduced a new generation of products to high-end core customers from the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, and in 2020 we have established projects with many core customers and started research and development (large cylindrical batteries)." Fan Wenguang admitted to the Financial Associated Press that since Tesla released 4680 batteries, large cylindrical batteries have ushered in a wave of project outbreaks.

According to Bic battery combined with received customer demand and industry information, by 2025, large cylindrical cells will account for at least 30% of the share, that is, about 480GWH, which has exceeded the total global demand for power batteries in 2021. On the other hand, Yiwei Lithium Energy, which is also optimistic about the development prospect of large cylindrical batteries, has made corresponding capacity reserves. According to Liu Jincheng, Yiwei LiNeng has planned 200GWh production capacity, including large cylindrical and square batteries, which is expected to be completed in 2022.

From the product point of view, take Fan Wenguang's Bic battery as an example, several representative products of its 46 family of large cylindrical batteries range in height from 80-120mm and energy density from 275Wh/kg to 300Wh/kg. The fastest charge to 80% is 15 minutes and the slowest is 20 minutes. In addition, the Bic battery product series also includes some customized products with special orientation, such as those whose fast charging can reach less than 9 minutes. It is reported that Bick all-polar ear technology large cylindrical power battery, has entered the stage of sample mass production.

However, in the current domestic square-based battery market, large cylindrical battery manufacturers are also facing many challenges. "(large cylindrical batteries) put forward higher technical requirements for each process, at present, there are very few equipment suppliers, and it is also a challenge to the upstream material supply." Fan Wenguang said that in addition to the supply side, the main challenge for electric vehicle companies on the demand side is that mainframe factories, which previously lacked the corresponding technical reserves of cylindrical cells, need to wade out a technical route, including battery management, as soon as possible, "such as BMS to adapt to the chemical characteristics, thermal management and safety design of ternary plus silicon negative electrodes."