How Will the "Dual Carbon" White Paper Reshape the Solid-State Battery Industry?

SMM News, November 8:
Key Points: The State Council Information Office released the "China's Actions for Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality" white paper on November 8, 2025, which will deeply and rapidly promote the development of the solid-state battery industry.
The essence of the carbon peak and carbon neutrality strategy is a profound energy revolution, whose success relies on two key pillars: first, "generating electricity well" (clean energy), and second, "using electricity well" (end-user energy electrification + ESS). Solid-state batteries, as representatives of next-generation battery technology, play a crucial role precisely at the intersection of these two pillars.

I. Interpretation of the Core Content of the Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality White Paper
Carbon peak and carbon neutrality are imminent: benefiting future generations + environmental protection + energy constraints + major country responsibility.
The "1+N" policy system: timetable + roadmap + implementation plan. This system is the top-level design guiding the nationwide green and low-carbon transition, and its core idea can be summarized as "energy revolution" and "industrial transformation." At the national level, the "Opinions on Fully and Accurately Implementing the New Development Philosophy to Achieve Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality" and the "Action Plan for Carbon Peak Before 2030" have been issued, providing systematic planning and overall deployment for carbon peak and carbon neutrality work.

Specifically, the core content related to solid-state batteries mainly includes the following points:
1. Building an energy system: clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient. Vigorously Develop Non-Fossil Energy: Increase the proportion of electricity generation from clean energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear power. Large-scale energy storage facilities are required to smooth output, shave peaks, and fill valleys to address the intermittent and unstable nature of these energy sources.
Promote the Transformation and Upgrading of Energy Consumption: Shift from reliance on fossil fuels to electricity to achieve deep decarbonization.

2. Promote Industrial Transformation: Key Industries + Green and Low-Carbon
Electrification of Transportation: This is the top priority. Vigorously promote new energy vehicles (electric vehicles, electric heavy-duty trucks, etc.), with the goal of achieving full electrification of vehicles in the public sector by 2035 and making NEVs the mainstream in new auto sales.
Low-Carbon Industrialization: Promote the electrification of industrial processes to reduce direct reliance on the combustion of coal and oil.

3. Promote Technological Innovation: Cutting-Edge Technologies + Key Breakthroughs
Classify energy storage and new energy technologies as cutting-edge technologies and key research directions. The government encourages and funds R&D in next-generation battery technologies to overcome the limitations of existing technologies.

4. Establish a Circular System: Recycling + Resource Recovery
This involves the entire industry chain, from green design and clean production to resource recycling. For the battery industry, it means not only focusing on performance but also on the carbon emissions, resource recovery, and environmental impact throughout the life cycle.

II. Impact of the White Paper on the Solid-State Battery Industry: Policy Support + Opportunities and Challenges + Catalytic Drivers
The carbon peak strategy provides unprecedented historical opportunities and strong driving forces for the development of the solid-state battery industry. Its impact is comprehensive and multi-layered:

1. Boost Market Demand for Solid-State Batteries: NEV Growth + Long-Duration Energy Storage + Safety Requirements
The application of solid-state batteries can address range anxiety while reducing battery usage: the higher energy density of solid-state batteries, such as 500 Wh/kg, enables small size and high energy, allowing NEVs to achieve a driving range of over 1,000 km.
As carbon peak policies deepen, requirements for vehicle energy consumption and emissions will become increasingly stringent. Automakers have strong incentives to seek more advanced and efficient battery technologies, making solid-state batteries the top choice and a key battleground. Solid-state batteries, with their potential for long lifespan and high safety, are highly suitable for large-scale, long duration energy storage (LDES) (>4 hours) on the power grid side, effectively addressing the pain point of volatility in wind and solar energy.
Both NEVs and ESS power stations have extremely high safety requirements, with an increasingly stringent pursuit of safety standards approaching zero accidents. The inherent safety advantages of solid-state batteries are unparalleled.

2. Accelerating the Solid-State Battery Process: Policy Support + Financing Environment + Technological Breakthroughs + Commercial Progress + Circular Economy
Solid-state battery technology is widely included in national and local scientific and technological development plans for the "14th Five-Year Plan" and "15th Five-Year Plan" periods, enabling access to substantial research funding, project support, and tax incentives. The government encourages and supports enterprises through industrial funds, green credit, and other means to establish R&D centers and pilot production lines for solid-state batteries, accelerating their transition from the laboratory to industrialisation.

Financing Environment: A more relaxed financing environment attracts significant capital inflow into the solid-state battery sector, addressing funding bottlenecks in its R&D and industrialisation process.

Technological Breakthroughs: The timetable for carbon peaking (peaking before 2030) has created a sense of urgency across the industry, driving breakthroughs in solid-state battery technology. This prompts research institutions and enterprises to focus efforts on overcoming technical challenges such as ion conductivity of solid electrolytes, solid-solid interface impedance, and cost control.

Commercial Progress: Downstream and upstream enterprises in the solid-state battery industry are encouraged to plan ahead, including production of solid electrolyte materials, manufacturing of specialized equipment, and battery recycling, thereby accelerating the maturation and refinement of the entire industry chain.

Circular Economy: Effective resource cycling is promoted, with policies encouraging and mandating battery recycling. Solid-state batteries (particularly sulphide systems) may contain more rare metals, and their recycling technologies and business models are expected to develop rapidly under policy guidance, forming a closed loop of "production-use-recycling-reuse."
According to SMM projections, all-solid-state battery shipments are expected to reach 13.5 GWh by 2028, while semi-solid-state battery shipments are forecast to reach 160 GWh. By 2030, global lithium-ion battery demand is estimated to be around 2,800 GWh, with the compound annual growth rates from 2024 to 2030 for lithium-ion battery demand in EVs, ESS, and consumer electronics at approximately 11%, 27%, and 10%, respectively. The global penetration rate of solid-state batteries is projected to be around 0.1% in 2025, and is expected to reach about 4% for all-solid-state batteries by 2030. By 2035, the global penetration rate of solid-state batteries may approach 10%.

**Note:** For further details or inquiries regarding solid-state battery development, please contact:
Phone: 021-20707860 (or WeChat: 13585549799)
Contact: Chaoxing Yang. Thank you!