The power battery industry has accelerated the shuffle, and one-third of companies have been eliminated

"The implementation of the 'double points' management method is about to be implemented. The new energy automotive industry is facing problems such as rapid expansion of production capacity, shortage of industrial chains, and lagging recovery and utilization. Songxianzhu, deputy director of the Saidi Institute of Technology at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that high costs and difficult energy density levels have become two critical issues for the power battery industry.

Liuyanlong, Secretary General of China chemical and physical power industry association, said that between 2015 and 2017, the number of power battery-related supporting companies has dropped from 150 to about 100, which means that one-third of the companies have already been eliminated and the future industry competition will become more intense.

High cost to enterprises

The reporter learned that power battery enterprises are facing a "down market crisis", on the one hand, the rising price of battery raw materials, and on the other hand, the new energy vehicle subsidy policy has been declining year by year, and power battery companies are generally under pressure.

"Technology determines how high a company can fly, how much quality determines how far it can fly, and costs determine whether it can fly." Zhaobaoxing, deputy general manager of Lishen power battery System Co., Ltd., said frankly that due to the continuous increase in raw material costs and the continuous reduction of battery prices due to the impact of national policies, the cost pressure on battery companies is huge.

It is reported that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Science and Technology issued the "Medium and Long-term Development Plan for the Automotive Industry" issued in 2017, implementing the promotion and application of new energy vehicles and the upgrade of power batteries, and carrying out technical cooperation on key materials, single batteries, and battery management systems for power batteries. To solve the problem and accelerate the revolutionary breakthrough of power battery. By 2020, while breaking through the bottleneck of energy density, we will strive to reduce the cost to less than 1 yuan / watt hour.

Yeshengji, deputy secretary-general of the China auto industry association, said that although China is currently the world's number one new energy car production and sales, but whether to maintain the leading level is not absolutely certain. Yeshengji believes that at present, the new energy vehicle market in China has not yet been fully formed, and the level of industrialization is low. There is still considerable room for development of key technologies, battery performance and cost.

"The current price costs are entirely supported by subsidies, just as children can not live without weaning. The new energy car industry also needs the care of the entire industry. Only if the pace is steady will it not wrestle. "Yeshengji stressed.

Technical routes are controversial

"Due to the lack of endurance, we are either charging or on the way to charging. "Tianxiaobo, general manager of Shenzhen Times High-tech Equipment Co., Ltd., admitted at the scene. Yangyusheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, also said that the development of new energy vehicles must resolve mileage anxiety as soon as possible.

The endurance has become the commanding point for the competitiveness of power batteries. However, what kind of power battery technology has more potential for development?

It is understood that lithium sulfur batteries are considered to be one of the most potential high-energy density energy storage devices in the industry. According to the data, lithium sulfur batteries use sulfur as a positive material, and the battery theory can reach a maximum energy of 2600 Wh/kg, far exceeding the lithium cobalt acid battery that is now widely used.

However, at present, lithium sulfur batteries are still in the research stage. Yangyusheng predicts that lithium sulfur batteries will be difficult to achieve in the next 3-5 years. "Even eight years in a decade is not pessimistic." At present, lithium-sulfur batteries have five major technical difficulties, such as low safety, low volume than energy, low discharge doubling rate, low energy conversion efficiency and low cycle times.

In addition, lithium air batteries are also a very promising high-specific capacity battery technology that uses the reversible reaction of lithium metal and oxygen to reach a theoretical energy density of 11,000 Wh/kg. However, the industry has continued to dispute it. Yangyusheng believes that the energy conversion efficiency of lithium air batteries is too low and their life span is short, and it is very likely that "far hydrolysis can not be far thirsty." Professor Zhouhaoshen of Nanjing University and a special expert on the National thousand people program is optimistic. He believes that lithium-air batteries are difficult but promising. "We have conducted research experiments on catalysts, diaphragm, etc.. The next step still needs to solve the problem of comprehensive efficiency and will not be possible. "

For hydrogen fuel cells that are recognized as ideal in the industry, Yangyusheng also questioned: "There is a view that the conversion rate of hydrogen energy is high and clean, and I do not think it is completely correct. Hydrogen is produced using fuel cells. Hydrogen compression and transportation also consume energy. The entire process still emits a certain amount of carbon dioxide. He stressed that the superiority of fuel cells has yet to be tested.

"The ultimate goal of electric vehicles is not necessarily pure electric vehicles. The most ideal low-carbonized electric vehicles in the future should be photovoltaic and wind power powered batteries that provide energy to the engine through biomass, or alcohol-fired electric vehicles that do not burn oil. "Yangyusheng looked forward.

Increased competition in the industrial chain

China Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association data show that the top five power battery companies in 2017 are: Ningde era 10.068 billion Wh, BYD 5.66 billion Wh, Waterma 2.412 billion Wh, Guoxuan Hi-Tech 2.48 billion Wh, Bick 1.655 billion Wh. Among them, the market share of Ningde era jumped more than BYD, from 20.6% in 2016 to 29.2% in 2017.

Wu Hui, research director of Ivey Economic Research Institute, also analyzed on the spot that in 2017, China's new energy auto industry structure and corporate competition pattern have undergone significant changes. The leading enterprises have changed from BYD to Ningde era, Lishen, AVIC Lithium, Wanxiang, Enterprises such as Guangyu and CITIC Guoan have seen significant declines, and companies such as Fueng, BAK, Yiwei Lieneng, Jiangsu Zhihang, and Guangdong Tianjin have played strongly.

Liuyanlong said that the future market will be further concentrated in the dominant companies, only with strong technological accumulation, sufficient capital support, rational market positioning and can quickly respond to the market battery manufacturers can take the lead and win the market.

Zhang Chunxi, director of the second business unit of BYD Battery Group, revealed that BYD currently has a certain scale of battery recycling production line, but in the future BYD will release this part of the business and cooperate with peer companies to promote recycling. Lei Fengping, deputy general of Shanghai Electric Guoxuan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. also agreed. He emphasized that “the upstream and downstream cooperation of the power battery industry chain is in a win-win situation. The market is so huge that it is difficult for a single company to lead the industry alone."

Song Xianzhu called for the establishment of a new mechanism for effective cooperation between power cell industries in the upper and lower reaches of the power battery industry, and for exchanges and collaboration on common key technology development, intellectual property license and protection, standard research, and policy measures to promote the coordinated development of power battery and related industries. He believes that the industry needs to work together to further enhance the power battery industry technological innovation and market competitiveness.

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