The 48V micro-hybrid system "storm" of lithium battery is coming!

With downstream applications accelerating, the 48V micro-hybrid system "storm" seems to be coming.

"As the first B-class model in China with 48V micro-hybrid system, Borui GE has been listed for more than 20 days, and the order quantity in a city in Shenzhen has exceeded 1,000." Geely Automobile Group Vice President and General Manager of Sales Company Lin Jie recently said that Borui GE is expected to become a new growth point for Geely Automobile.

High-tech lithium battery notes that in addition to Geely, its current brands include Changan, Jianghuai and Haima. The joint venture brands include Guangqi Honda and FAW Toyota. Imported brands including Audi and Mercedes-Benz have released 48V micro-mixed models.

At the same time, domestic manufacturers such as Chery, Baojun, and Volvo are all interested in launching 48V micro-hybrid models, while international manufacturers such as BMW, General Motors, and Volkswagen have also put the production of 48V micro-hybrid system models on the agenda.

Reasons for the accelerated start of the domestic 48V micro-mixed system market:

First, the pressure from the passenger vehicle fuel consumption limit, light vehicle country six standards and "double points" and other series of policies urgently implemented;

The second is that the cost of the 48V system is relatively low, the effect of fuel saving is relatively obvious, the system changes are small, and the development cycle is short;

The third is that it is not realistic for traditional fuel car companies to switch to new energy routes in the short term. Therefore, the 48V system has become one of its important transition plans.

"National Six Standards, WLTP and other related policies and standards will be launched to promote the importance of energy saving and emission reduction technologies at home and abroad. The 48V micro-mixing system has significant significance for reducing CAFC fuel consumption. Compared with HEV system, 48V micro-hybrid system It has better economics." Dr. Shi Xianxing, senior engineer of Wanxiang 123 Company, said that with the scale effect brought about by the continuous increase of application volume, the price of products will gradually decrease. In the next few years, 48V micro-mixing The market is expected to usher in rapid expansion.

According to the latest IHS forecast, by 2025, the world's annual output of 48V micro-hybrid vehicles will reach 13.6 million vehicles. China is expected to become a major market for 48V micro-hybrid technology in the future, and approximately 8 million 48V micro-hybrid models will be produced in China.

As the core component of the 48V system, lithium batteries are calculated by carrying 0.6-1 kWh per vehicle. It is expected that by 2025, the global market demand for 48V system lithium batteries will reach 15 GWh.

Under the temptation of a huge potential market, the vanguard forces represented by vehicle companies and lithium power companies have already arranged their cards in advance.

Speed up the layout of car companies

Since last year, domestic and foreign vehicle factories are speeding up the launch and market planning of the 48V system models.

In terms of independent brands, in May this year, Geely launched the B-class model of the 48V micro-hybrid system - Borui GEMHEV; last November, Jianghuai Automobile launched the first 48VMPV model - Ruifeng M4HyBoost. Earlier, Changan built the first 48V micro-mixed production model in China - Yidong Blue.

In terms of joint ventures and imported brands, in April this year, Familia F5 added 48V micro-hybrid models; Audi has already mass-produced 48V systems on SQ7, A6 and A8; the upcoming new Mercedes S-class and new golf GTI will also be A 48V micro-hybrid system will be applied.

"The 48V system technology still exists in the initial stage of market education. There is no doubt that the 48V lightweight technology model is a new incremental market to be further developed. " said a car dealership official.

Predictably, the 48V micro-hybrid system will first be used in high-end models such as domestic Class B cars, joint venture brands, and imported brand models.

It is understood that a domestic 48V micro-hybrid system (including batteries, motors, two-way DCDC, etc.) can be controlled between 3500-4500 yuan, and the energy-saving effect can reach 12 % -25 %. Imports from abroad will be more expensive, costing 800-1200 US dollars, and the effect of fuel saving can reach 15-30 %.

It is worth noting that according to the difference in motor position, there are many classifications of 48V technology, 48VBSG (P0 system) is relatively simple and the lowest cost, and the system integration of 48VISG (P1/P2/P3 / P4) is more demanding and more comfortable. Some technical structures need to make design changes to the driving system components, so the cost is relatively high.

"If the 48V can not achieve the same price as the same grade fuel truck, or the price is too far away, the market acceptance may not meet expectations. "The above person in charge said.

Lithium electric enterprise card position

High-tech lithium battery has learned that the battery companies including Wanxiang 123, Ningde Times, Lishen, AVIC Lithium and Xiongyi have all made corresponding technical reserves. There is no doubt that behind these companies' in-depth layout is optimistic about the potential market prospects of 48V battery systems.

In fact, this year, the 48V battery market has become more competitive.

In April this year, Wan-123 produced 570,000 sets of high-power 48V micro-hybrid power system projects officially put into operation. Prior to this, Wanxiang 123 high-power 48V micro-hybrid power system project was selected by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2018 for the first batch of technical upgrades.

Dr. Shi Xianxing said that Wanxiang One Two Three has developed a 48V micro-hybrid system since 2013. The battery core is based on the patented technology of independent super nano-phosphate, which can realize the functions of intelligent start-stop, acceleration and energy recovery, and effectively improve the vehicle power. Performance, to achieve a 15-25% reduction in vehicle fuel consumption.

On March 27th, Bosch Group, a Fortune 500 company, held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Bosch Automobile System (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. in Tin. Its world's first battery industrialization project, the 48V battery project for vehicles, started construction simultaneously.

Wang Weiliang, president of the China division of Bosch powertrain solutions, says the 48V system is a commercialized product with no subsidies, and ultimately, whether it is a policy or a business practice, it will ultimately have to revolve around the actual operating profits of the market.

From a commercial point of view, the 48V system is an ideal product whether it is from the comfort and dynamics of driving, or from the future intelligent, electrified power equipment requirements, or for fuel saving.

On March 7th, Deutsche Bahn, the world's leading auto parts supplier, and Chengfei Integrated Co., Ltd. (60% owned by Continental and 40% owned by Chengfei Integrated) signed a contract to develop and produce 48V batteries. system. Continental is responsible for providing the basic software and hardware of the battery management system. The subsidiary of Chengdu Airlines, the subsidiary of Chengdu Airlines, is responsible for providing the batteries.

"China Aviation Li-electric 48V lithium battery adopts a three-way system. According to Xiaoyazhou, deputy general manager and chief engineer of China Airlines Lithium, the company has been preparing for the development of the 48V battery system for three years and has mature technical reserve and core development experience.

In January, the company announced that it had signed a purchase order with foreign company RELIANCEJIOINFOCOMOMLIMITED for 48V100AHLR19-inch lithium ion battery pack with a total order value of 48.4 million U.S. dollars, totaling about 317 million yuan.

High "threshold" for 48V batteries

Despite the vast market space and profits, the layout of battery companies has further accelerated, but the 48V system batteries still have a certain threshold for the enterprise's technical development capabilities, mainly because of the differences in specific application scenarios.

"Compared to power batteries, 48V lithium batteries have higher technical difficulties on some indicators, such as power up to 20-30C, minus 28 degrees low temperature start-up, continuous charging and discharge, tens of thousands of life requirements (shallow state), In a smaller space, the energy density is 130 Wh / kg or more. "Xiaoyazhou said.

At the same time, it is worth noting that as a new application product, the technology of the 48V system battery needs to be continuously improved in many aspects. The first is the trade-off between cost and safety, the second is the prediction and judgment of product life, and the third is the standardization of modules, The fourth is the improvement of the weight, heat management and sealing of the Pack level; The fifth is the diagnosis of battery failure.

Bosch is working to bring the more economical 48V power supply system to market, according to the head of Bosch's electric transportation business. The Bosch 48V battery product shell is made of plastic instead of metal and does not require active cooling. These designs are more conducive to energy conservation and emission reduction while reducing costs.

"Making a 48V battery from a plastic shell is extremely challenging because lithium-ion batteries expand throughout the battery's life cycle and when the battery is charged, so the battery shell must be able to withstand certain pressures.

Bosch's engineers rearranged the internal units of the 48V battery, even the plastic shell can withstand pressure. "The person in charge added.

GGII analysis believes that the 48V system battery has a high threshold for the enterprise's technical development capabilities and cost control capabilities, which means that in the next few years, it will only be the international and domestic team power battery companies that can truly play a leading role in this field. It will not give too many market opportunities for second-and third-tier companies.

The page contains the contents of the machine translation.