Burst! It has become an export "blockbuster product"!

Oct,09,2022

namkoo solar

Lithium battery is one of the most popular export products in China. In recent years, because of its high charging and discharging efficiency and stability, lithium battery is regarded as the first choice of modern energy storage equipment worldwide.

Since the beginning of this year, many countries have been short of energy, the price of electricity has soared, and the market demand for energy storage products has greatly increased. Therefore, China's lithium battery export has also witnessed explosive growth. However, unlike other products that need to be transported in containers, lithium batteries can be exported and transported in standard containers through special module design. When they arrive at the destination, they can be put into use immediately without assembly. Follow the lens of Namkoo to have a close look at the whole process of a lithium battery from production to export.

Time saving, cost reducing and high efficiency China's lithium battery "self standard box" goes overseas

In the workshop of a lithium battery manufacturer in Zhejiang, lithium batteries are being processed. To put it simply, the whole process mainly includes three parts: the first is the production of pole piece, the second is the production of electric cell, and the third is the battery assembly. Among them, battery cell production is the core link of lithium battery production. In this process, welding, liquid injection and other processes are required to complete offline.

The offline lithium battery is like a building block of the same size, which is then assembled into a 20 inch suitcase sized battery pack, and finally becomes a set of lithium battery energy storage devices.

After leaving the factory and loading the truck, these assembled lithium batteries arrived at Shanghai Yangshan Port after a three and a half hour journey. Because lithium battery belongs to energy storage equipment, and it is transported as dangerous chemicals, its export journey has many special places. First of all, it can not enter the port directly, but wait for the professional inspection of the dangerous goods packer in the storage yard, and then declare dangerous chemicals in the Maritime Safety Administration. After each box is marked, it finally waits for the notice of entering the port.

The size of energy storage equipment and container is basically the same. Taking a 20 foot container as an example, the shipping limit is generally not more than 26 tons; The simple design of energy storage equipment makes the weight of single container less than 26 tons, which can meet the weight limit of sea transportation and also save the sea freight; Compared with the case that energy storage batteries need to be transported separately in containers, about 50% of the freight can be saved. At the same time, when operating at the port, reduce the difficulty of on-site large machinery hoisting and the rental cost of hoisting equipment. Such energy storage equipment will complete the assembly, installation and delivery inspection of the whole system in the factory, and will be delivered to overseas customers in the form of pre assembled complete products through standardized, modular and platform based design. Next, the energy storage equipment will be shipped directly to go abroad.

At one o'clock in the morning, this batch of lithium battery equipment finally entered the Shengdong Terminal of Shanghai Yangshan Port. Because it is a special product with a special box design, it was arranged to the last loading process. According to the regulations, a cargo ship can only be loaded with 10 dangerous chemical containers at most. An hour later, these lithium batteries were on their way to Hamburg, Germany. Since the first batch of lithium battery equipment was exported in 2015, the export of lithium battery equipment has covered more than 30 countries and regions. In 2021, the shipment of energy storage batteries in China will reach 48GWh, with a year-on-year growth of 167%. It is estimated that the installed capacity will exceed 90GWh in 2022, with a year-on-year growth of 88%, and will exceed 324GWh in 2025.

Lower cost, longer life, lower cost and increase efficiency of domestic lithium battery

In recent years, the global demand for energy storage equipment has increased significantly. According to customs statistics, in the first eight months of 2022, China's lithium ion energy storage battery exports totaled US $29.926 billion, an increase of 82.97% year on year. Behind the increase of export scale is the breakthrough of technology. Among them, how to improve the capacity and life of lithium battery while ensuring its stability has become a common problem faced by the entire industry.

To become the champion of the energy storage track, the energy storage battery needs to overcome four hurdles. The first is the life of the energy storage equipment, the second is the stability during charging and discharging, the third is the service efficiency under extreme temperature, and the fourth is the safety of the battery.

The battery life is usually reflected in the number of charging and discharging cycles. In the early years, the technology of energy storage equipment was not mature. At that time, lead-acid batteries were mainly used. The number of charging and discharging cycles was only 3500, and the average service life of batteries was only 3-5 years.

After tens of thousands of experiments and innovations by scientific researchers, lithium iron phosphate battery was introduced. It has high energy density, relatively stable performance, and the final charging and discharging cycles can reach 5000 to 7000 times, with a service life of nearly 20 years. At the same time

The use efficiency of the battery under extreme temperature is improved, and the overall safety is improved through the box design.

With the synergy of technological innovation, economies of scale, price competition and manufacturing experience, China's lithium battery industry has grown in scale and its cost has declined rapidly. Data shows that the unit price of the battery system of Paineng Technology, a lithium battery manufacturer, decreased from 2.03 yuan/Wh in 2017 to 1.51 yuan/Wh in 2019, and then to 1.45 yuan/Wh in 2020. At present, the average price of energy storage battery in China is about 1-2 yuan/Wh, which has also become a strong advantage for export enterprises.