According to reports, South Korea’s SK Group electric vehicle battery copper foil manufacturer announced that it has developed a high elongation copper foil for 4680 batteries – the elongation rate may be 30% higher than other products.
The 4680 battery is once again the focus.
(Source: wechat public account “Energy Review • Chief Energy View” Author: Yuan Su)
On September 9, BMW Group announced that in order to meet the demand for batteries of “new generation” models, it will take the lead in using large cylinder batteries in “new generation” models from 2025, and has signed a battery production demand contract worth more than 10 billion euros with two partners, Ningde Times and Yi Weili Energy. According to the agreement between the BMW Group and the two Chinese battery companies, the latter will start to supply BMW with large cylinder batteries in 2025.
BMW’s large cylinder battery, which is 46 mm diameter and 95 or 120 mm height, is similar to Tesla’s 4680 (46 mm diameter and 80 mm height) cylinder battery. Therefore, BMW’s large cylinder battery is also known as the “quasi-4680″ battery.
Driven by Tesla, the electric vehicle industry set off a boom in 4680 batteries. More and more automobile companies from the square battery, soft pack battery route, to track the cylindrical battery technology route. In addition to BMW, Daimler, Apple, Lucid, Rivian, Xiaopeng, NiO, FAW, JAC, and Volkswagen China are also paying attention to and laying out 4680 batteries.
According to CICC forecast, 2023 is expected to become the first year of 4680 battery mass production, 4680 battery installed capacity is expected to exceed 20 gigawatt-hours, 2024 will exceed 100 gigawatt-hours.
Innovation and challenge of aural technology
Batteries used in electric vehicles are divided into square, cylindrical and soft packs according to their shape and package form. Both square and cylindrical batteries use metal hard shells, and soft packs use aluminum-plastic composite films.
Tesla first used the small cylindrical 1865 battery produced by Panasonic of Japan, that is, the battery diameter is 18 mm, the height is 65 mm, and the specification was later expanded to 2170. In September 2020, Tesla released the self-developed 4680 battery at the battery Open Day. Tesla believes that 46 mm diameter is the best diameter for both economy and battery performance. The height can be flexibly adjusted according to the needs of the model, such as the 46 series battery launched by the domestic battery manufacturer Bic battery, with a height ranging from 80 to 120 mm; BMW opted for a height of 95 mm or 120 mm.
From the perspective of structure, the biggest feature of the Tesla 4680 battery is the use of non-polar ear (also known as all-polar ear) technology. The so-called pole ear is a metal conductor drawn from the positive and negative electrodes of the cylindrical battery, the main components are aluminum and copper, and it is the contact point of the battery for charging and discharging. The electrons in the lithium battery move between the positive ear and the negative ear, and the flow path is proportional to the internal resistance, which is positively related to the internal loss and heat of the battery. Therefore, the non-polar ear design can shorten the electron flow path, reduce the internal resistance and heat production of the battery, which can bring higher output power and better fast charge performance.
From the material system point of view, the 4680 battery will be more suitable for new material systems such as high-nickel ternary and silicon negative electrode than the square battery. First, the disadvantage of cylindrical batteries is that the group efficiency is about 70%, lower than 80% of the square battery, want to achieve the same energy density as the square battery, you must use a more efficient solution, the use of high nickel terpolymer materials and silicon negative electrode system; Second, the silicon negative electrode has a higher expansion coefficient than the graphite negative electrode, and the internal stress distribution of the cylindrical battery is more uniform than that of the square battery, which is not easy to cause internal material damage.
The advantages of high consistency of the cylindrical battery unit make the 4680 battery more suitable for 800 volts high voltage, solving the problem of fast charging of electric vehicles; Because the cylindrical battery has better structural support than the square and soft pack battery, the 4680 battery will also promote the “cell to chassis” (CTC) technology industry change.
Therefore, the 46 series of large cylinder batteries are considered to be the development direction of the next generation of cylinder batteries. Tesla announced in September 2020 that compared with the 2170 battery, the 4680 battery capacity can be increased by 5 times, the output power can be increased by 6 times, the cost per kilowatt-hour can be reduced by 14%, and the mileage of the model equipped with the battery can be increased by 16%. In terms of charging, it takes only 15 minutes to charge from 10% to 80% in 400 volt high voltage fast charge mode.
BMW said in September 2022 that the 46 series large cylinder battery form and chemical system (high nickel ternary and silicon anode material system) can increase battery life by 30%, and with 800 volts high voltage platform, the battery charge time from 10% to 80% will be reduced by 30%.
Some analysts believe that the 4680 battery also has shortcomings that can not be ignored: on the one hand, the 4680 battery plus the CTC structure, so that the battery maintainability is very poor, high maintenance costs; On the other hand, the deep integration of the 4680 battery into the chassis will lead to poor protection on the side of the body of some models equipped with 4680 batteries.
At the same time, the non-polar lug technology has also brought challenges to the 4680 battery production process, and these difficulties are distributed in many links such as cutting, liquid injection, kneading and laser welding. Among them, the biggest problem is in the laser welding process – from the traditional spot welding of two pole ears to the all-pole ear welding, the welding process and welding amount have become more, the laser intensity and focal length are not easy to control, and it is easy to weld through the battery or cannot be welded completely. This link will directly affect the yield of 4680 batteries.
Battery companies and vehicle companies are in the layout
From a global point of view, Tesla, Panasonic, LG, Samsung, Ningde Times, Billion Wei lithium Energy, Bic battery, Honeycomb Energy and many other battery companies and automotive companies are in the intensive layout of 46 series of large cylindrical batteries.
Tesla is the world’s first 4680 battery layout company. In 2020, Tesla’s battery factory in Fremont, California, built a battery test line to trial produce 4680 batteries, with a planned annual capacity of 10 gigawatt hours. In January 2022, Tesla announced that the factory had delivered the first batch of 4680 battery electric vehicle Model Y in the first quarter.
On April 7, 2022, Tesla officially began production of 4680 batteries at its Austin plant in Texas, with a planned capacity of 100 gigawatt hours in the future. Production at the Austin plant is expected to surpass that of the Fremont plant by the end of the year.
Tesla is also installing the 4680 battery production line at its Berlin factory in Germany, which is expected to be put into production from the end of 2022 to 2023, with a total planned capacity of 50 gigawatt hours.
However, due to the impact of the recently passed “Inflation Reduction Act” subsidy policy in the United States, Tesla may prioritize the production of battery plants in the United States in the future.
For Tesla, the 4680 battery supply is not yet fully produced by its own, but also depends on the supply capacity of its suppliers Panasonic, LG and Ningde Times.
In 2021, Panasonic will establish a new 4680 battery production line in the Super factory in Nevada, the United States, and carry out mass production, while starting the construction of the 4680 battery test line in the Japanese factory, and test production in early 2022. In February 2022, Panasonic decided to establish a 4680 battery production base at its Wakayama plant in western Japan, which is expected to be mass-produced from March 2023 to March 2024.
In July, Panasonic’s financial report for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2022 said that the 4680 battery is scheduled to start mass production in the fiscal year 2024, and development and production line testing will be completed in 2023. By the end of May, Panasonic had completed the development of prototype batteries. According to media reports, the prototype battery has been sent to Tesla for testing. With the passage of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act subsidy policy, Panasonic is likely to focus its battery production on the United States.
In March 2021, LG’s 4680 battery trial production line has begun construction, and part of the production line is currently being transformed at the Ochang plant in Ochang, South Korea, and assembly and plating equipment has been installed. The goal is to complete trial production before Panasonic mass-produces batteries, with plans to achieve mass production as early as 2023, and raise the 2025 4680 battery capacity planning to 120 gigawatt-hours.
At the same time, LG won the Model 3 and Model Y battery orders produced by Tesla Shanghai Super factory, becoming the main supplier of Tesla, LG has successively developed 4680, 4690 and other types of batteries, hoping to maintain its proportion in the Tesla supply chain.
In August, Cui Xun, head of Samsung SDI China, announced at the World New Energy Vehicle Conference that Samsung has determined to develop 46 series batteries, including 4680, 4695 and 46120 three types of batteries.
At present, Samsung SDI is building a 4680 battery test production line in Cheonan, South Korea, and the first batch of equipment has been ordered, with a planned annual capacity of 1 gigawatt-hour. If the test goes well, Samsung SDI will mass produce 4,680 batteries at its plant in Malaysia with a planned capacity of 8 to 12 GWH.
Chinese companies are also in the bureau.
In this round of global “4680″ boom, the performance of Chinese battery companies and automobile companies is also worth looking forward to.
On September 9, Ningde Times announced that it will supply BMW with 46 series batteries, which will be produced at two battery factories in China and Europe, each supplying BMW with an annual capacity of up to 20 GWH.
On the same day, Yiwei Lithium Energy also announced that it will supply 46 series batteries for BMW. As early as November 2021, Yiwei Lithium Energy announced that it would invest in the construction of 20 GWH of 46 series battery production lines and auxiliary facilities for passenger cars in Hubei Jingmen High-tech Zone. On March 29, 2022, it announced the construction of a 46 series battery plant in Hungary.
Bak Battery announced in March 2022 that the 46 series battery is currently mainly a custom product, and users can jointly develop the specific parameters of the battery with Bak battery, and the non-customized mass production version will be available at the end of 2022. The company plans to build a new 46 series battery production line at the Zhengzhou plant, which has completed civil construction. Bic Battery and JAC will jointly develop 4680 batteries and battery packs.
In November 2021, Yang Hongxin, chairman and CEO of Honeycomb Energy, said that the market prospect of 46 series batteries is broad, and Honeycomb Energy will also cut into the 46 series battery field this year.
In addition, according to the statistics of Bank of China Securities, the world is setting off 4680 battery boom. Daimler, Apple, Lucid, Rivian, Xiaopeng, NiO, FAW, JAC, and Volkswagen China are also paying attention to and laying out 4680 batteries.
Among them, StoreDot, which Daimler invested $60 million in 2017, is developing 4680 batteries. Jac and CBAK New Energy jointly developed 4680 batteries; As a joint venture with JAC, Volkswagen Anhui (75 per cent owned by Volkswagen) may use its 4680 battery in its models. Apple, which plans to build a car, reached an impasse in negotiations with Ningde Times and BYD, and Panasonic frequently contacted, or turned to the use of 4680 batteries. Lucid and Rivian, the emerging car manufacturers in the United States, adopted the 4680 battery scheme in the early days.
From a global point of view, Tesla, the fastest progressing 4680 battery, has been in trial production in September 2021, and plans to mass production in 2022. Most other manufacturers will start trial production in the first quarter of 2022, and mass production will begin in 2023. Therefore, 2023 will become the real first year of 4680 battery mass production, and 2024 to achieve mass supply.
Post time: Dec-21-2023