Relevant experience in the development of Korean power lithium battery technology -Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment
South Korea's new energy vehicles and power lithium-ion battery industries started early and are concentrated in scale. The government attaches great importance to the development of core component systems and has promoted the development of electric vehicles (EV, PHEV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and hydrogen energy since 2014. A green and environmentally friendly vehicle plan with FCV as the core. As of 2018, a total of nearly 290,000 environmentally friendly vehicles have been produced. The government has proposed a target of 1 million xEV vehicles by 2020. By 2030, 1/3 of new cars sold will be electric vehicles or hydrogen fuel-powered lithium battery vehicles, accounting for 10% of the global new energy vehicle market. % share.
This article analyzes the technological development of South Korea's power lithium-ion battery industry and the development characteristics of leading companies, studies the "going out" development strategy of South Korea's power lithium-ion battery industry based on technological advantages, and provides guidance for the technological improvement and international competition of my country's power lithium-ion battery industry. Strengthen the provision of inspiration and reference.
All-solid-state battery research plan
South Korea plans to achieve the goal of commercializing all-solid-state batteries in 2025. At present, the development of all-solid-state battery technology mainly focuses on the support system of all-solid electrolytes, including the development of all-solid electrolytes with high ionic conductivity, electrode interface bonding technology, and improving the stability of polymer-based, composite-based, and oxide-based solid electrolytes. sexual technology, composite electrode technology that minimizes the interface resistance between positive and negative electrodes and electrolyte, solid electrolyte technology with ionic conductivity above 10(-4)S/cm, etc.
The support system for the development of positive and negative electrode technologies for all-solid-state batteries includes high-voltage/high-capacity positive electrode and high-capacity negative electrode technology, high-capacity positive electrode materials above 1000mAh/g or high-voltage (5V) positive electrode material technology, lithium metal and alloy-based negative electrodes Material technology, etc. By developing high-capacity positive and negative electrodes, the specific energy of the battery can be increased to more than 330Wh/kg (900Wh/L).
2) Korean power lithium-ion battery technical standards
Different from the implementation of my country's power lithium-ion battery standards, South Korea implements a company self-inspection system. There are a total of 11 standards related to power lithium-ion batteries in South Korea. Except for the battery standards for electric buses, the others are formulated with reference to relevant international standards. The important contents are similar to relevant standards in my country, but they are not mandatory, as shown in Table 6. South Korea Power Lithium-ion Battery Company has formulated a number of internal company implementation standards based on the national general standards. These standards are much more stringent and detailed than the national standards. Products put on the market by the company must undergo sufficient testing. and verification, which also provides strong technical support for the Korean Power Lithium-ion Battery Company's products to open up the European and American automotive markets. According to statistics, 9 of the top 10 electric vehicle manufacturers in Europe and the United States have formed cooperative relationships with Korean power lithium-ion battery companies.(Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment)
3) Analysis and inspiration of South Korea’s power lithium-ion battery’s “going global” development strategy based on technological advantages
Due to the small scale of South Korea's new energy vehicle market, local power lithium-ion battery companies are mainly engaged in the European and American high-end car market and implement the "going out" development strategy. For example, LG Chem has in-depth cooperation with General Motors, Volkswagen and other companies, and Samsung SDI has in-depth cooperation with BMW. and other companies, SK cooperates closely with Mercedes-Benz. From the perspective of product performance, the long-sized and large-capacity batteries developed by LG and SKI have high energy density, can be flexibly matched to vehicle models, and are suitable for the layout space of passenger cars. They have been well received and favored by foreign car companies.
3.1 Strong R&D strength and many technology patents
South Korea's leading power lithium-ion battery company is deeply involved in research and development, with a high proportion of technical personnel and a large number of patents. According to data from the Wanxiang Cloud website, as of November 25, 2019, LG Chem’s patent search results in the battery field were 17,906, and Samsung SDI’s were 22,765. Among them, Samsung SDI has core patents in prismatic battery acupuncture safety protection devices, overcharge safety protection devices, safety functional layers and pressure relief devices.
In 2017, major Korean battery companies such as LG Chem, Samsung SDI, and SKI invested 3.5 billion yuan, 2.8 billion yuan, and 1 billion yuan in R&D of lithium-ion batteries respectively (in the same year, my country's CATL invested 1.63 billion yuan in R&D ).
3.2 Advanced manufacturing technology and strict quality control
LG Chem adopts a new lamination process that can minimize the dead space inside the battery, and uses glue on the edge of the battery core to achieve the heat dissipation effect; it continues to improve the space utilization of the module by reducing the number of thin aluminum plates used for assembly. Improve the energy density of the module. The prismatic battery production line with Samsung SDI has reached 100% automation, and applies an advanced manufacturing execution system to conduct inspections through hundreds of measurement checkpoints to achieve separate tracking and strictly control the quality of power lithium-ion batteries throughout the vehicle's life cycle.
3.3 Product technical goals are clearly set
LG Chem mainly uses the chemical system of NCM622 doped with LMO+graphite. The cathode material will be developed into the NCM712 system. The 811 system is currently used in cylindrical batteries. The specific energy of the battery cells planned to be produced from 2020 to 2022 will reach 300Wh/kg, and the volumetric energy density will reach 700Wh/L, which can meet the 500km cruising range requirement of the vehicle. From 2023 to 2024, the specific energy will reach 330Wh/kg, which can meet the 600km cruising range requirement of the vehicle.
Samsung SDI mainly uses the chemical system of NCM622+graphite, and also mass-produces NCA+LMO cathode materials. The company will mass-produce 3.5-generation products with a volumetric energy density of 630Wh/L, and mass-produce 4th-generation batteries with a volumetric energy density of 700Wh/L from 2021 to 2022. The volume-specific energy of the 5th-generation batteries mass-produced after 2023 will reach 800Wh/L. In 2015, Samsung SDI's all-solid-state battery trial samples can reach 300Wh/kg (using sulfide-based solid electrolytes), while lithium metal batteries and lithium-air batteries are mainly in the laboratory development stage.
In 2019, SKI's cathode material system upgraded NCM622 to a system doped with NCM811, and the anode material will be upgraded from graphite to a silicon-carbon anode in 2021-2022. The specific energy target of the battery is 284Wh/kg in 2020, 294Wh/kg in 2021, and is expected to reach 314Wh/kg in 2022. With the use of silicon carbon anode, it will reach 319Wh/kg in 2023.
3.4 The inspiration of South Korea’s power lithium-ion battery industry technology development strategy to my country
At present, my country and South Korea have become important power lithium-ion battery production countries in the world. Thanks to the contribution of the domestic market, my country's power lithium-ion battery production scale has ranked first in the world for many years; however, South Korea's power lithium-ion battery industry The overall technical strength of Korea is stronger than that of my country, especially in the number of leading companies in the industry, product quality and the number of foreign car companies it cooperates with. Based on the technical analysis of South Korea's power lithium-ion battery industry, the following enlightenment is given to the development of my country's power lithium-ion battery technology. :
(1) Strengthen technology research and development innovation: Encourage companies to increase investment in research and development, cultivate and introduce leading talents in power lithium-ion batteries at home and abroad, add patent reserves in related fields, and accelerate the research and development process of new lithium-ion batteries and new system batteries;
(2) Improve the manufacturing process of power lithium-ion batteries: ensure the high safety, high qualification rate, low cost and traceability of power lithium-ion batteries. Accelerate the automation and intelligence of the entire process and improve production consistency and quality control levels;
(3) Actively cooperate with advanced foreign car companies: The car-making concepts of foreign advanced car companies, especially in terms of electrified vehicle platforms and technical requirements for car-grade power lithium-ion batteries, pose challenges to power lithium-ion battery companies. Actively cooperating with advanced foreign car companies will help my country's power lithium-ion battery companies deepen their understanding and research of car-grade power lithium-ion battery technology and improve their own technical level;
(4) Set a clear and rational technology development route: plan and lay out as early as possible the material technology system for power lithium-ion batteries that meet vehicle regulations in the next 3 to 5 years, and steadily promote the performance improvement of the next generation of power lithium-ion batteries in layers.
This article analyzes the technological development of South Korea's power lithium-ion battery industry and the development characteristics of leading companies, studies the "going out" development strategy of South Korea's power lithium-ion battery industry based on technological advantages, and provides guidance for the technological improvement and international competition of my country's power lithium-ion battery industry. Strengthen the provision of inspiration and reference.
All-solid-state battery research plan
South Korea plans to achieve the goal of commercializing all-solid-state batteries in 2025. At present, the development of all-solid-state battery technology mainly focuses on the support system of all-solid electrolytes, including the development of all-solid electrolytes with high ionic conductivity, electrode interface bonding technology, and improving the stability of polymer-based, composite-based, and oxide-based solid electrolytes. sexual technology, composite electrode technology that minimizes the interface resistance between positive and negative electrodes and electrolyte, solid electrolyte technology with ionic conductivity above 10(-4)S/cm, etc.
The support system for the development of positive and negative electrode technologies for all-solid-state batteries includes high-voltage/high-capacity positive electrode and high-capacity negative electrode technology, high-capacity positive electrode materials above 1000mAh/g or high-voltage (5V) positive electrode material technology, lithium metal and alloy-based negative electrodes Material technology, etc. By developing high-capacity positive and negative electrodes, the specific energy of the battery can be increased to more than 330Wh/kg (900Wh/L).
2) Korean power lithium-ion battery technical standards
Different from the implementation of my country's power lithium-ion battery standards, South Korea implements a company self-inspection system. There are a total of 11 standards related to power lithium-ion batteries in South Korea. Except for the battery standards for electric buses, the others are formulated with reference to relevant international standards. The important contents are similar to relevant standards in my country, but they are not mandatory, as shown in Table 6. South Korea Power Lithium-ion Battery Company has formulated a number of internal company implementation standards based on the national general standards. These standards are much more stringent and detailed than the national standards. Products put on the market by the company must undergo sufficient testing. and verification, which also provides strong technical support for the Korean Power Lithium-ion Battery Company's products to open up the European and American automotive markets. According to statistics, 9 of the top 10 electric vehicle manufacturers in Europe and the United States have formed cooperative relationships with Korean power lithium-ion battery companies.(Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment)
3) Analysis and inspiration of South Korea’s power lithium-ion battery’s “going global” development strategy based on technological advantages
Due to the small scale of South Korea's new energy vehicle market, local power lithium-ion battery companies are mainly engaged in the European and American high-end car market and implement the "going out" development strategy. For example, LG Chem has in-depth cooperation with General Motors, Volkswagen and other companies, and Samsung SDI has in-depth cooperation with BMW. and other companies, SK cooperates closely with Mercedes-Benz. From the perspective of product performance, the long-sized and large-capacity batteries developed by LG and SKI have high energy density, can be flexibly matched to vehicle models, and are suitable for the layout space of passenger cars. They have been well received and favored by foreign car companies.
3.1 Strong R&D strength and many technology patents
South Korea's leading power lithium-ion battery company is deeply involved in research and development, with a high proportion of technical personnel and a large number of patents. According to data from the Wanxiang Cloud website, as of November 25, 2019, LG Chem’s patent search results in the battery field were 17,906, and Samsung SDI’s were 22,765. Among them, Samsung SDI has core patents in prismatic battery acupuncture safety protection devices, overcharge safety protection devices, safety functional layers and pressure relief devices.
In 2017, major Korean battery companies such as LG Chem, Samsung SDI, and SKI invested 3.5 billion yuan, 2.8 billion yuan, and 1 billion yuan in R&D of lithium-ion batteries respectively (in the same year, my country's CATL invested 1.63 billion yuan in R&D ).
3.2 Advanced manufacturing technology and strict quality control
LG Chem adopts a new lamination process that can minimize the dead space inside the battery, and uses glue on the edge of the battery core to achieve the heat dissipation effect; it continues to improve the space utilization of the module by reducing the number of thin aluminum plates used for assembly. Improve the energy density of the module. The prismatic battery production line with Samsung SDI has reached 100% automation, and applies an advanced manufacturing execution system to conduct inspections through hundreds of measurement checkpoints to achieve separate tracking and strictly control the quality of power lithium-ion batteries throughout the vehicle's life cycle.
3.3 Product technical goals are clearly set
LG Chem mainly uses the chemical system of NCM622 doped with LMO+graphite. The cathode material will be developed into the NCM712 system. The 811 system is currently used in cylindrical batteries. The specific energy of the battery cells planned to be produced from 2020 to 2022 will reach 300Wh/kg, and the volumetric energy density will reach 700Wh/L, which can meet the 500km cruising range requirement of the vehicle. From 2023 to 2024, the specific energy will reach 330Wh/kg, which can meet the 600km cruising range requirement of the vehicle.
Samsung SDI mainly uses the chemical system of NCM622+graphite, and also mass-produces NCA+LMO cathode materials. The company will mass-produce 3.5-generation products with a volumetric energy density of 630Wh/L, and mass-produce 4th-generation batteries with a volumetric energy density of 700Wh/L from 2021 to 2022. The volume-specific energy of the 5th-generation batteries mass-produced after 2023 will reach 800Wh/L. In 2015, Samsung SDI's all-solid-state battery trial samples can reach 300Wh/kg (using sulfide-based solid electrolytes), while lithium metal batteries and lithium-air batteries are mainly in the laboratory development stage.
In 2019, SKI's cathode material system upgraded NCM622 to a system doped with NCM811, and the anode material will be upgraded from graphite to a silicon-carbon anode in 2021-2022. The specific energy target of the battery is 284Wh/kg in 2020, 294Wh/kg in 2021, and is expected to reach 314Wh/kg in 2022. With the use of silicon carbon anode, it will reach 319Wh/kg in 2023.
3.4 The inspiration of South Korea’s power lithium-ion battery industry technology development strategy to my country
At present, my country and South Korea have become important power lithium-ion battery production countries in the world. Thanks to the contribution of the domestic market, my country's power lithium-ion battery production scale has ranked first in the world for many years; however, South Korea's power lithium-ion battery industry The overall technical strength of Korea is stronger than that of my country, especially in the number of leading companies in the industry, product quality and the number of foreign car companies it cooperates with. Based on the technical analysis of South Korea's power lithium-ion battery industry, the following enlightenment is given to the development of my country's power lithium-ion battery technology. :
(1) Strengthen technology research and development innovation: Encourage companies to increase investment in research and development, cultivate and introduce leading talents in power lithium-ion batteries at home and abroad, add patent reserves in related fields, and accelerate the research and development process of new lithium-ion batteries and new system batteries;
(2) Improve the manufacturing process of power lithium-ion batteries: ensure the high safety, high qualification rate, low cost and traceability of power lithium-ion batteries. Accelerate the automation and intelligence of the entire process and improve production consistency and quality control levels;
(3) Actively cooperate with advanced foreign car companies: The car-making concepts of foreign advanced car companies, especially in terms of electrified vehicle platforms and technical requirements for car-grade power lithium-ion batteries, pose challenges to power lithium-ion battery companies. Actively cooperating with advanced foreign car companies will help my country's power lithium-ion battery companies deepen their understanding and research of car-grade power lithium-ion battery technology and improve their own technical level;
(4) Set a clear and rational technology development route: plan and lay out as early as possible the material technology system for power lithium-ion batteries that meet vehicle regulations in the next 3 to 5 years, and steadily promote the performance improvement of the next generation of power lithium-ion batteries in layers.
