Do car companies want to produce batteries in the future? Is the energy replenishment plan to choose fast charging or battery swapping? Both of these issues have been hot topics in the automotive industry recently.
On December 14th, Geely Krypton held its first Energy Day and gave its answer: from battery cells to battery packs, Geely Krypton's self-developed brick batteries were officially mass-produced and released, while firmly moving towards the direction of ultra fast charging for energy replenishment.
As the latest achievement in the comprehensive self-developed core three electric field, the innovation of BRICS batteries lies in breaking the limitations of traditional lithium iron phosphate batteries: low battery capacity, slow charging speed, and also the risk of thermal runaway. According to official reports, the volume utilization rate of gold brick batteries has reached 83.7%. In order to place more cells in the battery pack, Jike has thoroughly transformed the battery pack structure: using an integrated liquid cooling tray at the bottom of the battery to replace the traditional water pipe structure, reducing the compression of structural components on the cell space; Adopting a compact sandwich structure with battery cells, top cover, and bottom plate to release longitudinal space in the battery compartment; Using aviation grade ultra-thin thermal barrier materials between battery cells to fully improve volume utilization. Compared to traditional design, the total length of the sampling circuit for gold brick batteries has been shortened by 157 meters, the number of core components has been reduced by 35%, and the battery quality and energy density have been increased by more than 10%.
Meanwhile, thanks to the self-developed full range 800V architecture of Jike, matched with 800V pole charging technology, the maximum charging power of the BRICS battery can reach 500 kW and the maximum charging rate can reach 4.5C; Within the fast charging range of 10% to 80%, achieve a 15 minute increase in charging range by over 500 km.
It is worth mentioning that through the optimization of battery cell composition, battery pack structure, and intelligent production line, the production efficiency of gold brick batteries has increased by more than 40%. Compared with ternary lithium batteries with equivalent performance, gold brick batteries can reduce costs by 14.8% per kilowatt hour. At present, the gold brick battery has been officially mass-produced and taken off the production line at Quzhou Jidian Factory. The first phase production capacity of Quzhou Jidian Factory has reached 24GWh, and it will be first launched and installed on the Jike 007.
Why self-developed?
Regarding why self-developed batteries are necessary, An Conghui, President of Geely Holding Group and CEO of Jike Intelligent Technology, stated that there are three core points: safer, better user experience, and lower costs.
In terms of safety, it is widely believed in the industry that lithium iron phosphate batteries have a more stable and safer structure compared to ternary lithium batteries under high temperature conditions. However, due to the lower energy density of lithium iron phosphate batteries, increasing battery capacity and battery cells can also bring the risk of thermal runaway. To this end, while innovating the structure of the battery pack, the BRICS battery has upgraded the 6 safety measures of the pole cell battery pack to 8 items. In addition, the BRICS battery has designed a dedicated gold high-voltage insulation film on the surface of the battery cells, which can withstand 4000V DC high voltage and improve its high-voltage resistance by 27%.
According to An Conghui, the gold brick battery has also passed three industry-leading extreme safety tests - the needle puncture test for overpressure, the 240 second fire test, and six extreme working condition serial tests. After continuous immersion, fire, freezing, and towing, as well as rolling and high drop tests, the gold brick battery still does not ignite or explode.
In terms of user experience, An Conghui stated that under the same volume, the battery capacity of the gold brick battery can be 26% higher than that of traditional lithium iron phosphate batteries, and it is also the fastest 800V lithium iron phosphate battery produced in the world. Even at a low temperature of minus 10 degrees Celsius, the charging speed can be improved by at least a quarter compared to similar products; At the same time, the maximum discharge rate of the three second pulse can reach 16C, and it can achieve zero to hundred acceleration performance in three seconds on high-performance vehicles.
In addition to safety and user experience, the most important significance of self-developed batteries is also to reduce costs. In recent years, with the increasingly fierce competition in the electric vehicle market, coupled with rising raw material prices and threats to supply chain safety, batteries, as the most expensive component of the entire vehicle, have become the key for OEMs to maintain competitiveness and regain initiative and voice in the industry chain in the fierce competition.
At the 2022 World Power Battery Conference, Zeng Qinghong, Chairman of GAC Group, bluntly pointed out: "The cost of power batteries has already accounted for 40% -50%, or even 60% of new energy vehicles, so I am currently working for Ningde Times." As soon as the words were finished, GAC Aian decided to make batteries and invest 1 billion yuan to establish its own battery company in Guangzhou - Inpai Battery Technology Co., Ltd, Two days before the launch of the BRICS battery, the Inpai battery factory was officially completed and put into operation.
Coincidentally, when releasing the BRICS battery, An Conghui also clearly pointed out that in order for an intelligent electric vehicle enterprise to form competitiveness in the future, the battery is the core and most basic element, which is also one of the moats for the future development of Extreme Krypton. "The progress of technology and the mastery of enterprise core technology are very important in terms of cost. Technology must be leading, and cost must be low in order to form core competitiveness."
However, unlike Zeng Qinghong, who pointed the finger at Ningde Times, the self-developed battery of Jike cars will still maintain a close relationship with Ningde Times. Last August, CATL announced that Kirin Battery would be the first to be used in the new models of the Kirin brand, and signed a five-year long-term strategic cooperation agreement with Kirin. The Kirin 009, as the first model of Kirin Battery, began delivery in January this year.
Regarding this, An Conghui also made it clear that "the source of the power battery for Jike mainly comes from the joint venture between Jike and Ningde Times. Jike has two routes in the battery industry: 1. Continue to use Ningde Times batteries; 2. At the same time, plan to install BRICS batteries. Both routes will be promoted simultaneously, and Ningde Times is a very important strategic partner of Jike. We will continue to maintain cooperation in the future."
He also revealed that besides being first installed on the Geely Krypton 007, it is not ruled out that other products will use BRICS batteries in the future. Due to Geely Krypton's strategy of building cars using architecture, with the release of BRICS battery production capacity, it is not ruled out that it will be applied to other brands, especially brands and models under the same architecture.
Due to the consensus in the industry to control costs and increase gross profit margins, many car companies have announced the discontinuation of battery production in the past two years. However, there are also host manufacturers that have delayed project mass production due to research and development difficulties and cash flow constraints. As a car company that had heavily invested in batteries in its early years, Geely has now invested over 100 billion yuan and established multiple battery manufacturers including Weirui, Yaoning, Hengyuan New Energy, etc.
However, Xie Shibin, Vice President of Extreme Krypton Intelligent Technology, stated in an interview that unlike other projects, the development of cell technology for BRICS batteries is completely independent, with a team of over 1000 R&D engineers and nearly 100 industry experts, taking three years to build, "As early as the initial stage of planning the architecture, we had the idea of developing our own battery cells. We selected 20 out of tens of thousands of solutions and optimized them to choose the most suitable all-around model for today's 800V era. Therefore, this research and development has completely independent intellectual property rights."
Firmly developing towards 800V ultra fast charging
Half a month ago, Geely Holdings and NIO signed a battery swapping strategic cooperation in Hangzhou. Following the cooperation between Changan Automobile and NIO, Geely has become the second ally to expand NIO's battery swapping circle of friends. Regarding this, An Conghui said, "Whether it's 800V or battery swapping, the purpose is to improve energy replenishment efficiency and solve users' energy replenishment anxiety. Geely Holdings has multiple brands, among which Ruilan Automobile is a representative of the implementation of battery swapping strategy. It mainly targets the To B market, and the operating situation is currently relatively good, which is a successful case of battery swapping."
When it comes to whether JiKron will join the battery swapping mode, An Conghui also clearly stated that before the establishment of the brand, JiKron had a clear strategic definition in the development of its architecture, which was to steadfastly develop towards the future direction of 800V ultra fast charging.
With the mass production and release of BRICS batteries, Jikru has fully achieved 800V of electric motors, electronic controls, and batteries. In addition, the self-developed, self built, and self operated ultra fast charging network of Jike has built a total of 401 Jike charging stations as of November 30, covering 100 cities nationwide and providing 2261 Jike charging piles. It is reported that in 2024, the total number of extremely charged stations is expected to reach 1000; By 2026, the total number of extremely charged piles is expected to reach 10000, and the plan of "one thousand stations and ten thousand piles" will be achieved in the next three years.
In the view of Zhao Yuhui, Vice President of Jike Intelligent Technology, Jike's 800V pole charging pile has been waiting for an 800V car for two years. Since the first 800V compatible Extreme Charging V1 pile was installed in April 2021, the ultra fast charging network of Extreme Krypton has rapidly evolved and iterated. Last year, the Extreme Charging V2 pile was laid out, and the Extreme Charging V3 pile will also be mass-produced and offline in the near future. Xie Shibin stated that with the advancement of technology, the battery capacity is gradually improving, but the pile must always take the lead, and the extremely Krypton overcharge pile has scalability. Although extreme charging is constantly upgrading, it is compatible and can be continuously upgraded in the future.
The input-output ratio of ultra fast charging networks is also a focus of attention in the industry. In this regard, Zhao Yuhui said that as the scale gradually expands, the cost reduction ability is also significantly advancing. Compared with last year's layout of the Extreme Charging V2, the comprehensive cost of the Extreme Charging V3 charging station has greatly increased. "At present, Jike Energy Network is self-developed, self built, self built, and self operated. If it were accounted for independently, it would still be at a loss today. However, I believe that we will be able to turn to profitability in 2025, and this day will soon come." An Conghui is full of confidence in this.
In terms of the specific layout strategy of the ultra fast charging network, Jike has proposed the goal of "1515 Convenient Electricity", which means finding a station in 15 minutes and charging well in 15 minutes. Within the next three years, "1515 Convenient Electricity" will cover more than 90% of Jike's car owners. "If the 'Thousand Stations and Ten Thousand Stakes' overcharging is achieved, Extreme Krypton will definitely have very good profits in the field of charging and energy supplementation. It is now in the stage of technological cultivation, and the ultimate goal is to provide Extreme Krypton owners with a better experience in charging and energy supplementation. In the field of charging and energy supplementation, calculating the big account and the total account from the future strategy must be correct, and calculating the small account will definitely be a loss at present." An Conghui explained.
For Extreme Krypton, leading the 800V era still requires market testing, but the release of BRICS batteries has quietly added fuel to the order volume of Extreme Krypton 007. According to An Conghui, the release of BRICS batteries for Extreme Krypton only took 2 hours, and 007's orders increased by 487 units.