Japan launches ''attack'' in solid-state batteries

Japan is eager to take back a journey in the field of lithium.

Not long ago, Japanese media reported that from May this year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will invest 1.6 billion yen, within the United Nations Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Matsushita, GS Yuasa, Toray, Asahi Kasei, Mitsui Chemicals, Mitsubishi Chemical, etc. Large auto manufacturers, batteries and materials manufacturers jointly develop solid-state batteries.

According to the data, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is affiliated to the Central Government Department of Japan. It is mainly responsible for improving the vitality of the private economy, making the development of foreign economic relations smooth, ensuring economic and industrial development, and stabilizing the supply of mineral resources and energy and maintaining efficiency.

It is evident that the solid-state battery has risen to the national strategic level and the domestic top-level industrial chain has been assembled. Japan’s determination to seize the commanding heights of the solid-state battery sector is evident. The recapture of the market share of the power battery seized by Chinese and Korean companies was interpreted by the Japanese domestic media as one of the purposes of the government's efforts to increase the research and development of all-solid-state batteries.

According to the data presented by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, in the field of automotive batteries, Japanese companies accounted for about 70% of the world's share in 2013. However, with the accelerated catch-up of Chinese and Korean companies, the market share of Japanese companies has been reduced to 2016. 41%.

2013 is indeed the “watershed” of lithium battery development. Before this, lithium batteries were mainly used in the field of consumer electronics. The market is mature and stable. Since 2013, new energy vehicles have begun to rise rapidly in the world, and the power battery industry has been growing even the majestic vitality.

Despite the first-mover advantage of lithium-ion technology industrialization (the world's first lithium-ion battery was first mass-produced by Japan's SONY Corporation in 1991), it fully shared the dividends of the lithium industry, but the multiple impacts on policies, markets and development strategies. Next, in the face of the violent offensive of the rising-up Chinese and Korean battery companies, Japan has been able to maintain a passive contraction in the field of lithium batteries in recent years.

In fact, according to the data provided by JFD, the global market share of lithium battery in Japan has dropped to around 15% in 2016.

Obviously, this situation cannot be accepted by the Japanese government and enterprises. It is a breakthrough plan given by Japanese society to fully develop solid-state batteries that are recognized as the next generation of batteries. According to the clues of Japan's layout in the field of solid-state batteries, it can be concluded that this will not be an "air cannon."

In the field of solid-state batteries, Japan will be steadily and steadily, focusing on the consistent style of core technology.

Before the formal funding, in order to ensure the mastery of the global automotive solid-state battery, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is considering applying to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to promote the development of international standards.

In April 2018, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Japan's New Energy Industry Technology Development Agency (NEDO) announced that it will develop an all-solid-state lithium battery test evaluation method that reflects international standards and specifications within 2022 the international standardization strategy for solid-state lithium batteries.

In addition to the super-consciousness expressed at the level of market rules, the focus of research on solid-state battery technology in a large number of universities, institutions and enterprises in Japan has provided solid hard power for Japan to promote the industrialization of solid-state batteries.

University/institution

In 2011, Professor Takuno of the East University of Technology and other people and Toyota Motor jointly developed a new solid electrolyte, and subsequently improved the material by changing the element type. In 2016, the ionic conductivity of the solid electrolyte was more than twice that of the organic electrolyte. The battery power density is more than 3 times. After the prototype solid battery was repeatedly charged and discharged in the laboratory for 1,000 times, the capacity was hardly attenuated.

In 2014, Prof. Yamada and others at the University of Tokyo used a high-concentration electrolyte to reduce the battery charging time to 1/3 of a typical lithium-ion battery and succeeded. The hard-to-burn thick electrolyte developed in 2017 uses the flame-retardant trimethyl phosphate as an organic solvent. When heated to 200 degrees Celsius, it will produce a flame that can extinguish the flame and even have a lithium-ion battery fire extinguishing agent.

The Koji University of Okayama, the professor of the West, has successfully developed a positive charge-discharge-related positive electrode. By coating the surface of the particle of the positive electrode material with particles containing titanium and ruthenium, the test battery can be 5 times that of a conventional lithium-ion battery speed to charge.

In addition, Takada Hiroshi, deputy director of the National Materials Research Institute of Japan, has developed a new anode material system that can increase the anode capacity to about 10 times that of existing lithium-ion batteries, and the battery capacity is expected to increase by about 50%.

The optical glass leading company Ohara Seisakusho (Mitsui) has also developed a glass additive material that can suppress the capacity reduction under fast charging and low temperature conditions - LICGC. When LICGC is mixed into a solid battery positive electrode material, it is rapidly discharged at a rate of 3 times the battery charging speed, which is about 40% larger than that of a conventional lithium ion battery, and about 25% at a temperature of minus 20 °C.

Toyota

Among Japanese companies, Toyota is recognized as one of the most authoritative companies in the field of solid-state batteries.

As early as 2010, Toyota introduced a solid-state battery of sulfide. By 2014, it was reported that the energy density of the Toyota prototype solid-state battery had reached 400Wh/kg. As of February 2017, Toyota's solid-state battery patents have reached 30, far exceeding other companies.

In October 2017, Toyota announced that it has invested more than 200 people to accelerate the development of solid-state battery technology. In December of the same year, Toyota and Panasonic announced that they would jointly develop all-solid-state batteries to promote the popularization of electric vehicles through advanced battery technology.

In the same month, Toyota once again announced that it plans to launch 10 electric vehicles in 2020 and commercialize the next generation of solid-state batteries. Subsequently, the news was confirmed by Toyota Material Engineering executive Shigeki Suzuki, and following this news, Toyota will fully realize the commercialization of all-solid-state batteries by 2020.

TDK

TDK is a well-known electronic industry brand in Japan. It has long been a leader in the field of electronic raw materials and components. ATL, which is well known to the Chinese people, is a subsidiary of TDK.

In November 2017, TDK announced that it has developed the world's first all-ceramic solid battery that uses small SMD technology for charging and discharging - CeraCharge, new battery size 4.5 × 3.2 × 1.1mm, rated voltage 1.4V, capacity is 100μAh, the number of charge and discharge cycles can exceed 1000 times, and it is expected to be mass-produced and shipped in the spring of 2018.

According to Japanese media reports, TDK will use the Austrian factory to achieve CeraCharge with a monthly output of 20,000-30,000.

In order to realize the mass production plan, TDK also plans to invest 100 billion yen in equipment investment between 2018 and 2020. The target is to increase the revenue of film application products including lithium-ion batteries by 60% in 2016 compared with 2016 about 400 billion yen.

Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

In 2005, Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., a professional manufacturer of electronic components in Japan, announced the development of high-power lithium-ion secondary batteries. In 2015, it began mass production of small-sized lithium-ion secondary batteries using lithium titanate.

In 2016, due to the shrinking of the original main business revenue, Murata made a price of 17.5 billion yen, which was transferred to Sony's battery business. Sony realized the commercialization of the world's first lithium-ion battery. In this transaction, Sony will transfer the technical strength and business experience accumulated in the battery business to Murata.

On this basis, Murata has set a goal of further expanding the lithium-ion battery business. According to the plan, Murata will put solid-state batteries into the market around 2019.

In addition, Japan's NGK, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Toray, Panasonic, Sumitomo Chemical and other manufacturers also expressed optimistic about the market prospects of all solid-state batteries, is accelerating the development of related materials.

The goal of Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals is to develop solid electrolytes for all-solid-state batteries by 2020 and bring new generation battery materials to market as soon as possible.

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