Suffer enemies both inside and outside! China's Power Battery Industry Launches Counter-striking War

Subsidies continue to recede, raw material costs rise, coupled with overseas giants eyeing, China's power battery industry at present "battlefield situation" is not optimistic. In 2018, a total of 1.256 million new energy vehicles were sold in China, representing a significant increase of 61.7% year-on-year. In the overall large-scale decline in the car market, the new energy vehicle market to bring some comfort to the industry. After all, electrification is the future, and has been listed as a consensus by the automotive industry, grasping the trend is to grasp the future. However, the uncertainty of the new energy vehicle industry is increasing. At the China Electric Vehicle Centurion Forum (2019) held on January 12, Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology, revealed that relevant departments are working hard to formulate a new energy vehicle subsidy policy for 2019. The general principle is to ensure that the industry will not have major fluctuations after the full withdrawal of subsidies in 2021 and release the pressure brought about by the recession in stages. Recently, there are rumors that the subsidy ceiling will be lowered from 1200 yuan/kWh to 1,000 yuan/kWh in 2019; The mileage subsidy for pure electric passenger vehicles will be lowered by two gears as a whole, with an overall reduction of about 50%. True or false rumors remain to be verified, but many new-energy car companies have begun to adjust prices for their products. Xiaopeng Automobile plans to increase the subsidized price of the three models of Xiaopeng G3 from 135,800, 149,800 and 165,800 yuan to 155,800 yuan, 177,800 yuan and 199,800 yuan after February 1, with the increase ranges of 20,000 yuan, 28,000 yuan and 34,000 yuan respectively. In addition, the Nueva Special Administrative Region Car prices have also been raised, with Weimar's insurance deadline on March 31, and BYD saying it plans to raise prices. In fact, the main reason electric cars cost so much more than their fuel-fired counterparts is the high cost of power batteries. At present, the cost of power batteries in most pure electric vehicles is as high as 30% ~ 40%. Ternary Lithium Route Becomes Absolute Mainstream Today, automotive power batteries are dominated by lithium-ion batteries. Take the most common cylindrical single lithium battery for example, the main internal structure of lithium batteries is composed of positive electrode, negative electrode, electrolyte and separator. At present, lithium ion batteries are mainly divided into lithium cobalt oxide, lithium manganate, lithium nickel oxide, ternary lithium and lithium iron phosphate batteries through different cathode materials. In addition to the cathode material, the electrolyte is mainly composed of lithium, while the anode material is mainly graphite with high crystallinity and good conductivity, and the separator for separating electrons and permeating ions is mainly composed of single-layer PE, single-layer PP and triple-layer PP. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in 2018, the total installed capacity of power batteries in China reached 57.35 GWh, an increase of 57.0% year-on-year. Among them, the proportion of ternary lithium batteries was 59.7%, and that of lithium iron phosphate batteries was 37.5%. At present, the most widely used battery in new energy vehicles is ternary lithium, and its cathode material is mainly composed of nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium. Because of the ternary synergistic effect its comprehensive performance is better than any single combination of compounds the weight energy density of ternary lithium batteries is higher. It is predicted that the energy density of the ternary lithium battery system will reach 200 Wh by 2020 /kg. However, the thermal stability of such batteries is poor, very easy to cause fire and explosion. In contrast to lithium-ion batteries, lithium iron phosphate batteries are the second most widely used single batteries, characterized by high safety, high rate charging and discharging characteristics and long cycle life. However, lithium iron phosphate batteries also have shortcomings, its performance is greatly affected by temperature, the discharge capacity and capacity will be greatly reduced at low temperatures, energy density is also low. It is predicted that the weight energy density of LiFePO_4 battery system will only reach 140 Wh/kg by 2020. In 2018, when subsidies were linked to energy density, the installed capacity of lithium-ion batteries soared to the top of the industry. BYD, a former advocate of lithium iron phosphate batteries, has also focused on ternary batteries. Domestic and foreign costs remain high, but subsidies have fallen back. Cathode materials account for the highest share of the cost of power batteries. According to Vehicle Trend statistics, with the corresponding ore prices rising, nickel, cobalt and manganese now account for more than 90% of the cost of cathode materials for ternary lithium batteries, and cathode materials accounted for nearly 50% of the cost of the whole battery. Nowadays, with the rising prices of raw materials such as cobalt and manganese, the cost pressure of ternary lithium batteries is also increasing. At the same time, the amount of subsidies for new energy vehicles in China has been declining year after year, which is extremely difficult for manufacturers of new energy vehicles and power battery manufacturers. At the same time, China's power battery recycling industry is also facing a new challenge. High cost, imperfect technical specifications and other issues in the industry. At present, for power battery recycling, regardless of ladder utilization or recycling, there are many difficulties, such as technology, profit model, qualification access and so on. While domestic worries remain unresolved, the pace of foreign aggression is approaching. China is the world's largest market for new energy vehicles and power batteries. Ningde Times is the world's largest power battery manufacturer with a market share of 41.19% in China, while BYD, which has a market share of 20.09% in China, ranks third in the world in installed capacity. Maximum, however, does not mean maximum strength. Zeng Yumin, chairman of the Ningde Times, once said in an internal letter: "The power batteries are now dominated by Chinese companies for the simple reason that the state wants a Chinese core on electric vehicles, because the Chinese government provides generous subsidies and because China is the world's largest car market." In November 2018, the Samsung Ring New Power Battery Phase II Factory project officially commenced in Xi'an; In October 2018, LG Chemicals started its $2 billion power battery project in Nanjing Binjiang Development Zone. In May 2017, Panasonic Group invested RMB2 billion in the construction of the Dalian Vehicle Battery Factory. The Panasonic battery cell energy density of Tesla Model 3 is 340Wh/kg, ranking first in the world. LG Chemistry plans to launch power batteries with energy density target of 270 ~ 280Wh/kg in 2020. LG Chemistry plans to launch power batteries with energy density target of 270 ~ 280Wh/kg in 2020. The energy density of the third generation power batteries produced by Samsung SDI is 210 ~ 230 Wh/kg. UBS AG Tesla's lithium-ion battery manufacturing technology with Panasonic is driving down costs, making it the industry's No. 1 battery with a weight-to-energy density of just $111 per kWh, down $37 from $148 per kWh at LG Chemical, the second-largest company, according to a report released today. The Ningde era, with costs of more than $150 per kWh, came in fourth. In 2020, China's subsidy policy for new energy vehicles will recede in an all-round way.At that time, the subsidy advantage of "China Core" will be completely lost, and the entry of overseas strong players will have a tremendous impact on China's power battery industry. Chinese Power Battery Enterprises Strike Back Against the High Price of Power Battery Raw Materials, Many Chinese Precious Metals Enterprises have started to increase the construction of projects in Congo (Gold), which is the main supplier of cobalt minerals. In addition, many power battery companies, including Ningde Era, are already developing high-nickel, low-cobalt power battery products and constantly improving the energy density of individual batteries. In addition, the concentration degree of power battery market in China is becoming higher and higher. In 2018, Ningde Era occupies 41.19% of China's power battery market share, ranking first; BYD ranked second with a market share of 20.09%. These two enterprises accounted for 61.28% of the national market share, the top five reached 73.72% of the market share, the top ten even won 82.83% of the market. Ningde Times and BYD were the two giants long before overseas power battery giants officially entered the Chinese market Offer olive branches to more mainframe companies. Traditional automakers such as Yutong Bus, SAIC, Dongfeng Automobile, Chang'an Automobile, Beiqi, Geely, Guangzhou Automobile, Chery, Fortune Automobile, Hagrid, Jinlong and Heavy Duty Truck have become customers of Ningde Times. As a new force in car building, Weimar, Weilai, Aichi, Baton, Dianca, Yundu, cars and homes have also adopted batteries of Ningde Times. BYD has also changed its self-supply model, outsourcing to Dongfeng Motor and other mainframe factories and setting up a joint venture with Chang'an Automobile in Chongqing to produce batteries. In 2018, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu also met with BAIC Chairman Xu Heyi and Great Wall Motor Chairman Wei Jianjun. In addition, Wang Chuanfu said in an interview, "The company plans to go public in its battery cluster by 2020 to raise funds to accelerate development as the global automotive industry moves from traditional internal combustion engines to electric." Even as foreign power battery companies are laying out in China, Ningde Times has begun building plants in Germany and agreed to buy a total of € 4 billion from BMW. In 2020, the subsidy policy of new energy vehicles will completely recede, and the era of head enterprises at home and abroad will officially come. As the core technology of the new energy vehicle industry, the power battery industry is undoubtedly the whole industry in the attention of the field. As the head of China's power battery companies, Ningde Times and BYD have also begun to prepare for the rainy days, while upgrading themselves, but also continue to expand the circle of friends in the downstream industry. At that time, whether the two enterprises can fight a good "defense war" will become the key to the international competitiveness of China's new energy automobile industry. An important sign.