As a big country of power battery, why couldn't Chinese make NCA batteries?

Why does everybody say NCM/NCA is the development direction of the ternary batteries, but Chinese car manufactures and enterprises choose NCM without expectation, but few of companies choose NCA?  Those leaders who purported to be Chinese Tesla, why did they choose NCM battery instead of NCA battery following Tesla?

Benefit from China, as a new energy source, the world's largest car market, in 2017 China's power battery shipments again in the world.

GGII survey data show that in 2017 China's new energy vehicle production of about 811000 vehicles, up 56% from a year earlier, the total power for power battery installed 36.4 GWh, up 29% from a year earlier.

From the point of different types of batteries, lithium iron phosphate and 36.4 GWh installer’s electricity three yuan in 34.05 GWh accounted for 93.4%; Manganese acid lithium is about 1.54 GWh, accounted for 4.2%; Lithium titanite 0.57 GWh, accounted for 1.6%, other 0.8%.

One, is not the full attention of phenomenon is that China has two years in a row to achieve NCA ternary cell loading zero breakthrough. After zero breakthrough in 2016, 2017, 286.5 MWh loading quantity is more than three times the 2016 2016 MWh, again on a new step. Whether this marks the prelude to China NCA simmering battery market?

New energy vehicles mainly passenger cars in the second half of the market, and passenger car to use three yuan, including sliding and NCA, direction of the battery is certain.

But the only question is, why you said the direction of the sliding/NCA is three-yuan batteries, car companies and Chinese battery manufacturer is almost invariably chose sliding route, there are few companies choose NCA route? New energy vehicles leader tesla is chosen is Panasonic NCA battery, but those who claims to be China's tesla building cars to do the new forces in terms of choice of battery is not learning tesla, preferring sliding batteries?

As power battery manufacturing the world's first big country, why China has no production NCA batteries? The reason behind is technical reasons or policy? Being the technical factors, the technical route preference or technology research and development and engineering ability of problem? If is a problem of technical ability, then where is the gap between China's battery manufacturing enterprises with Japan and South Korea? China has a hope to catch up with Japan and South Korea on the NCA batteries?

1. What is the road of Chinese ternary battery?

Much better to get power battery, new energy vehicles.

This sentence literally. Because the battery nearly half of the cost of new energy vehicle.

Four big advocate material in battery (cathode materials, anode materials, electrolytes and diaphragm), the anode materials not only account for 40% of the cost, but also directly determines the energy density of batteries. Because of this, most power battery are named by the anode material.

According to the positive electrode materials technology route, power battery can be mainly divided into lithium iron phosphate, three yuan (NCA/sliding) and three types of manganese acid lithium battery (you might ask, why miss dong's silver of Zhuhai Lithium titanite battery Cannot be classified? This is because lithium titanite is the only named after the cathode material of power battery).

These three kinds of cells each have advantages and disadvantages: lithium iron phosphate batteries Charge and discharge cycle life is long, but the downside is of low energy density, low temperature performance is poor, mainly used in commercial vehicles; Ternary material has the advantage of high energy density, the disadvantage is that short cycling life, safety and high temperature performance is poor, mainly used in passenger car; Manganese acid lithium battery energy density is low, the cycle stability of the high temperature and storage performance is poorer, the current domestic production and use very little.

So-called ternary material mainly sliding and NCA, including sliding materials can be divided into NCM111, NCM523, NCM622, NCM811, etc. At present domestic mainly adopts sliding material, give priority to with NCM523, its material in three-yuan 2016 points in the model output 76%, NCM111 and NCM622 accounted for 13% and 10%, respectively.

With the increase of nickel element content, the ternary cathode material of specific capacity increased, it will improve the energy density of batteries. In new energy vehicle range and under the double stimulation of cobalt price rising, high nickel system NCM811 and NCA materials has become a hot market competing.

But from the current domestic power battery manufacturers, the choice of the route chosen NCM811, choosing to NCA route and widowhood. The sliding and NCA big difference? Whether there is or?

2. There are “good” and “bad” between NCA and NCM?

First of all, from the point of material production process, production technology of NCA than sliding condition is more demanding.

According to the research of the Haitong securities, look from molar ratios, sliding of nickel, cobalt, manganese for 5:2:3 or: the mole ratio of common, and in the NCA nickel, cobalt, aluminum common molar ratio of 8:1. 5-0. 5, due to the NCA Chinalco’s content is too little, so often referred to as the binary materials. The NCA to Al (transition metal) instead of manganese, actual it is the lithium cobalt nickel manganese acid by ion doping and surface coating modification, ion doping can enhance the stability of the material, improve the cycle performance of materials. But in the process of production, due to Al for amphoteric metal, not precipitation, therefore NCA material processing technology on the threshold.

Found big trip in the second half, due to the high technical barriers of NCA materials, current capacity mainly concentrated in Japan and South Korea, mass production is less in China.2014 global NCA production of 14500 tons, accounting for about 8.9%, all the anode material NCA output of 23000 tons in 2015, 10.3%. Japan and South Korea in 2016 NCA output of 26800 tons of the two countries.

NCA main suppliers (Sumitomo), Japan's Sumitomo metal chemical industry co., LTD and household chemical (Toda), South Korea Ecopro and GSEM also has a small amount of product sales. The main supply Toda LGC AESC, Japan and South Korea, Sumitomo main supply Panasonic and PEVE, South Korea's Ecopro corresponds to the customer as SDI.

Secondly, from the point of battery production process, NCA battery production difficulty is greater. Global NCA battery produces mainly have Panasonic, Samsung, and AESC, and sliding numerous manufacturers, including LG and main power battery manufacturer in China.

Tesla's longest life course of electric vehicle and the latest technology can realize the full range of 350 kilometers, 20 minutes is well-deserved leader in the world, and it adopts Panasonic NCA batteries are inseparable.

At first, Panasonic type 18650 NCA's battery, and tesla recently launched 21700 NCA batteries.21700 monomer battery energy density is close to 300 wh/kg, then the original 18650 battery 250 wh/kg increased about 10%, this is almost the highest energy density in the world production of lithium ion batteries.

This level, not only the highest utilization rate is far higher than the domestic NCM523 monomer battery energy density of 200 wh/kg level, but also significantly higher than that of domestic emerging and most leading NCM811 battery energy density level, the highest 250 wh/kg, system namely monomer 200 wh/kg.

This can explain the NCA sliding superior battery? NCA batteries are already large, mature production, compared and validated by business, and high energy density represented by 622, 811, the sliding of the battery is not large, temporary one step behind.

Among them, the most leading NCM811 battery manufacturing country, mainly produced in the cylinder Power battery manufacturers and square and soft package battery manufacturers also do the relevant safety tests in a business.

Has been declared to achieve production NCM811 manufacturers including back battery and great energy, space, energy density and improve it and under the control of the quality and safety problems of the positive material NCM811, further enhance the difficulty is not small.

There is no public data, which can be detailed comparison of NCA and NCM811 energy density, safety and cost performance, it is hard to say who wins. However, Chen academicians of Chinese academy of engineering, said NCA and NCM811 performance close to par, NCM811 slightly cheaper in price.

Battery and NCA system are not perfect, if you want to further improve the energy density, on the basis of 21700 constant need to do big volume, which makes a bigger challenge for battery safety management.

So, although the world's largest maker of NCA battery Panasonic, known by the NCA product, but in fact it is on two legs, at the same time of providing supplies of NCA tesla, also produces sliding supply Volkswagen, ford, and other car companies.

3. Can Chinese make a mature NCA battery?

Is an indisputable fact that the Chinese local ternary battery supply system, there's almost only sliding this line of products? So, China's domestic enterprises to produce mature NCA battery?

In domestic battery company, whether it is a line of ningde hin high-tech era, BYD, lichen, countries such as manufacturers, or professional do cylindrical battery bick, Walter, day Peng and great resources of energy such as factories, now all have no batch production NCA batteries.

Among them, the most do square or soft package enterprises who wasn't involved in the NCA battery, cylindrical battery enterprise, bick is only in the laboratory research and development, for example, established lishen and new day Peng of energy production plan, but the product was not found in the mass production, to market test.

In November 2017, the chairman of lishen Qin Xingcai released" Lishen battery Route planning of chemical system ", the inclusion NCM811 / NCA system, NCM532/622 system, lithium iron phosphate system, solid-state batteries, sodium ion batteries and fuel cells.

In fact, lishen had ever small-scale production NCA batteries, but the officially listed in the plan for a long time, that want to rock, but prospects may not be particularly worth waiting for.

But, let a person feel surprise, Shanghai DeLong to the power battery is not very active on the market company, has declared the NCA mass production last year, the industry in 2017 in the loading quantity of more than 286 MWH may mainly by its contribution, the main supply Dongfeng passenger cars.

Whether the company's products mature, the industry have different evaluation.2016 can be DE Lang beauty of the big shareholders are energy (600175), in the 2017 acquisition of the new age of Zhejiang sea and li-ion battery technology companies, and the company is the original Ningbo gold and lithium electricity run away part of the team founded the company, it has certain advantages in the ternary material research and development, but also did not production material of NCA. Can DE Lang NCA batteries can be sustained high production needs further confirmation.

Analysis of large travel in the second half, this is not to say that China's power battery market, recently there will be no other high energy density of mature NCA ternary battery supplier, supplier is not only Chinese companies, but the background of three companies, Japan and South Korea

First, Panasonic company investment in Suzhou factory, may be NCA batteries in China, and will be for the Chinese car companies supply,

Second, jinsha river capital acquisition AESC has invested factories in China, the main direction, has batteries from lithium manganese acid into three yuan, which itself has NAC production capacity of the battery.

Third, has been in the Chinese market supply Samsung 2016 NCA batteries, but was suspended for policy reasons. As the change of policy environment, Samsung may be allowed to sell the NCA batteries in the Chinese market.

However, we need to ask is, why a Chinese battery manufacturer hasn't production NCA ternary batteries, because the factory made not to come out or there are no car companies use?

4. Where is the gap among China, Japan and South Korea power battery?

In the heat, the booming power battery market in China, why can hardly see the maturing of the Chinese company NCA ternary batteries?

Analysis of large travel in the second half, we temporarily domestic produce NCA materials of high consistency, stability, even Japan and South Korea imported material of NCA, also temporarily produce consistency, high stability of NCA battery.

Currently, the main foreign NCA materials market is sumitomo metals, Japan chemical industry co., LTD and the household field three monopoly, NCA domestic materials and their battery industrialization development started relatively late, but there are many companies began to pilot and small batch trial-produce, there are some technical problems to be solved, not form a batch production and sales.

According to Mr. Terry, shanshan energy and capacity lithium electricity were announced, with large-scale production ability of NCA materials. Among them, Mr. Terry NCA capacity is about 3000 tons/year, have been implemented to Panasonic and other customer sales.

But several domestic battery manufacturers feedback, it is difficult to choose the mature NCA material from the market of domestic suppliers, with the domestic manufacturer of the product stability and maturity technology is not high.

If domestic buy mature material, then why not buy from Japan? Obviously, the material supply is not the root cause, basic reason lies in our ability to manufacture, the design and production of NCA batteries is difficult.

From the point of design, high nickel material charged state of poor thermal stability, resulting in a decline in the safety of the battery, the battery production enterprises and users to the NCA battery terminal products are security, require design from batteries, power supply system design, power supply used for reliable security system design.

From the point of production, there are serious gas charge and discharge process, which leads to batteries to bulge deformation, circulation and shelf life down, battery unsafe, so usually made by the pressure of cylindrical battery shell NCA batteries, reduce the gas production to control the battery to bulge deformation problem. Tesla Model S adopt with the research and development of Panasonic 3.1 Ah NCA high capacity lithium battery, battery system consists of more than 7000 7000 cylindrical battery.

Found big trip in the second half, more let China factory headache, NCA in battery production process to control the humidity below 10%, and other materials now only liquid injection process to strictly control the humidity. This formed the challenge to domestic companies.

So, how difficult is it to NCA battery manufacturing. There are even, head of China's power battery enterprises said to the big travel in the second half, China may be a long time don't have this kind of production capacity, "I just don't want to".

If the gap between China and Japan and South Korea power battery enterprise, NCA is undoubtedly a good example.

5. Can Chinese car companies control NCA battery?

China currently made not to come out, if there are insufficient domestic demand stimulus? This is a chicken and egg question?

At present, from a global perspective, using NCA ternary batteries passenger car companies mainly tesla, tesla well through the battery management technology not only solved the energy density due to thermal runaway of the problems of ascension, and through the car design successfully avoid the NCA circulation of the question of short life of the battery.

So, despite the new force of China's Internet building cars, almost every company claims to do China's tesla, but not a learn tesla using NCA batteries.

The reasoning behind this is a high energy battery safety management difficult factor, but an important part of the reason may be that want to use but no goods, because the NCA Panasonic batteries for tesla and in short supply, can replace the Panasonic temporarily does not appear in other manufacturers of the same size.

Chen academician’s analysis, a more critical because may Chinese car companies want to use, but not necessarily be harnessed. Tesla's vehicle design and battery systems and control ability is not most of the Chinese car companies in the short term can be short-term imitation and beyond. In other words, not only forms a dynamic battery, NCA also carry the same batteries, NCA is not you want to use you can use, can better.

"The great travel" in the second half, however, think that the future of Chinese enterprises is also hope to build a mature NCA batteries, and forms a demand also do exist, this may be a new blue ocean power battery in China market.

Three yuan from the supply side, the electric car battery power line has not yet fully formed, also in constant evolution. Although China in the previous stage based on technology, cost factors and subsidies chose the route of sliding, but this does not mean that the NCA route in the absence of new opportunities. Although it is true that the NCA batteries have high technical threshold, but Chinese companies is not entirely without hope a breakthrough.

From the demand side, as more and more people of different technical background, different industries to build the car industry, such as the demand for power battery each are not identical, and the ability of different batteries for the NCA, the NCA will also become a new choice on the market.

Right now, the problem is that under the background of the lacking of the NCA batteries in domestic and foreign markets, how can Chinese power battery enterprises develop strongly, take a share of the spoils.

The page contains the contents of the machine translation.