Chinese lithium battery manufacturers announced their investment in the construction of a 20GWh large cylindrical battery production line and auxiliary facility projects for passenger cars, and a 16GWh prismatic lithium iron phosphate battery production line and auxiliary facilities projects.
The first mass-production in the world
This may be the first 4680 and 4695 battery production base in the world to be mass-produced.
In fact, Panasonic, Tesla, CATL and other companies are also deploying 4680 large cylindrical batteries, and some companies’ products are about to usher in mass production.
4680 large cylindrical battery
Panasonic 4680 battery
Not long ago, Panasonic released a new 4680 battery product for the first time, with a storage capacity of 5 times that of existing batteries. It plans to start trial production in Japan in March 2022.
According to Panasonic, the 4680 large cylindrical battery is specially manufactured to meet the requirements of Tesla electric vehicles, and the production cost is halved.
This year, Panasonic has established a 4680 battery test line in Japan. Panasonic also said that if it can produce this battery at a higher efficiency than its peers, it will consider large-scale investment and supply it to car companies other than Tesla.
In addition, Samsung SDI and LG Energy have also completed sample development of the more powerful 4680 battery, which is currently undergoing testing to verify its structural integrity.
Status overview
Cylindrical batteries have mature winding technology and low cost, but the heat in the core is not easy to dissipate, the effect of thermal management is slightly poor, and the volumetric energy density after grouping is slightly lower. In this regard, various companies use different innovative methods to improve their existing problems.
Through the optimization of the cathode and anode electrode materials and structural design, the development progress of the full-tab large cylindrical product is in line with expectations.
The fast charging performance has been increased by 3 times on the basis of taking into account the energy density. On the basis of meeting the market demand, the test results of part performance is better than expected.
Large cylindrical batteries have broad market prospects and have application advantages in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and other fields.
Taking this as a breakthrough, cylindrical batteries can compete with prismatic batteries. Therefore, other power battery manufacturers will also enter the field of large cylindrical batteries.
Performance of the 4680 battery
- First, the space utilization rate is improved, and the increase in the volume of the cylinder can reduce the number of battery cells。
- Second, the production cost is reduced, and the cell energy density increases, which means the number of battery cells.
- The third is the improvement of fast charging performance, which can charge up to 80% of the power within 15 minutes, and the peak power density can reach more than 1000W/kg.
China’s prismatic power batteries account for a large proportion, and the application of cylindrical batteries is declining. Now, many vehicle companies and suppliers are refocusing their attention on the upgraded large cylindrical battery.
Driven by the localization of Tesla, the domestic cylindrical battery installation has gradually returned to positive growth, reaching 8.35GWh in 2020, accounting for 13% of the domestic new energy vehicle battery installation.
Large cylindrical batteries have great application potential, especially in the high-class passenger car and commercial vehicle markets.
In addition, it can not only be equipped with the whole vehicle, but also suitable for some short-distance travel tools and terminal equipment with higher driving requirements.
The application value of cylindrical batteries in the field of new energy vehicles still exists, and their high consistency and low cost advantages can still find suitable living spaces in some subdivisions. With mass production on the market, large cylindrical batteries may be favored by more car companies.
