Beijing WeLion New Energy Technology, a maker of semi-solid-state batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), reported a jump in shipment volume last month, the latest sign that Chinese EV makers are integrating advanced technology to boost the driving range of their premium cars. enlarge models.
The company, backed by Shanghai-based EV maker Nio, supplied 482.9 megawatt hours (MWh) of batteries to automakers in May, up 30.9 percent from a month earlier, according to the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance .
WeLion’s 150 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery packs allow Nio to build EVs that can travel up to 1,000 km on a single charge, and WeLion’s monthly delivery quantity amounts to 3,200 of the 150 kWh batteries.
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“Battery technology is the most powerful weapon to drive the rise of China’s EV sector,” said Qian Kang, owner of auto parts companies in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. “Wider use of the most advanced solid-state battery will ultimately help major assemblers move up the value chain as their high-performance, longer-range cars attract wealthier customers.”
Solid state batteries are considered a better option than liquid electrolyte-based batteries, which most EV manufacturers currently use, for safety, reliability and efficiency reasons. However, they require higher development and production costs. No fully solid-state EV batteries have been commercialized.
WeLion’s semi-solid batteries add liquid to solid electrolytes, which can also improve performance. The company, mainland China’s only supplier of such batteries for electric vehicles, supplies major Chinese automakers in addition to Nio, the website said. No customer names were mentioned.
In early 2021, Nio announced that the extended edition of its ET7 sedan would be able to travel up to 1,000 km on a charge, powered by a 150 kWh solid-state battery pack. The name of the supplier was not disclosed at the time.
WeLion began supplying its high-density semi-solid-state batteries to Nio in mid-2023.
Other Chinese automakers, including Guangzhou-headquartered GAC Group and Shanghai-based IM Motors, are also building vehicles equipped with semi-solid-state batteries. The batteries can also be used in drones and robots.
Last month, Chery Automobile, a Chinese state-owned automaker that ships half of its total production abroad, said it would like to use solid-state batteries to differentiate its products and accelerate the transition from gasoline vehicles to electric cars.
Yin Tongyue, chairman of Chery, said on May 17 at a briefing in Heifei, the capital of eastern China’s Anhui province, that the company plans to be the first to use EV battery maker Gotion High’s solid-state batteries Tech will use when they start mass production. .
Gotion, the fourth largest EV battery maker in mainland China and the eighth largest in the world, has not announced when mass production of its solid-state batteries will begin.
Chinese players such as Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) dominate the global EV battery industry, with the country’s six largest companies controlling more than 60 percent of the global market, according to Seoul-based SNE Research.
The continent is also the largest EV market in the world, with EV sales accounting for 60 percent of the global total.
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