The production line runs at full capacity, the production capacity is fully released, and the products are still in short supply… This is the recent production situation of ” Shenzhen Senior Technology Material Co.Ltd(300568) ” of Changzhou enterprise, and it is also the “happy trouble” facing the whole power battery industry.
There are nearly 40 power battery cell enterprises in our province. Data show that by the end of last year, Jiangsu’s power battery production capacity, production and sales accounted for 44.7% and 46.5% of the country respectively, almost contributing “half of the country’s power battery industry”. At present, on the one hand, due to the hot sales of new energy vehicles and continuous product orders, manufacturers are constantly expanding production. On the other hand, they are faced with the rise in the price of lithium and other raw materials. How can the “sandwiched” power battery industry cope with the challenge?
Lack of batteries, but also lack of high-quality batteries
All production lines of “AVIC lithium battery” factory located in Jintan District, Changzhou operate at full capacity and work overtime to ensure the supply of new energy vehicle batteries. “Since the second and third quarters of last year, the strong momentum of order demand has appeared. From the Spring Festival to now, the production line has increased its horsepower to catch up with the work.” Wu Zhen, head of AVIC lithium battery market coordination department, said that as a leading enterprise in the industry, the recent orders had been “soft”. In his view, the main reason for the shortage of power batteries is that the demand for new energy vehicles exceeds expectations.
The sales heat of new energy vehicles remains unchanged – in 2021, the global sales volume of new energy vehicles was 6.31 million, a year-on-year increase of 101%, and the sales volume of Shanxi Guoxin Energy Corporation Limited(600617) vehicles was 3.52 million, a year-on-year increase of 1.6 times. On March 11, the China Automobile Association released that the production and sales of Shanxi Guoxin Energy Corporation Limited(600617) vehicles in mid February were 368000 and 334000 respectively, with a year-on-year increase of 197.5% and 184.3% respectively.
“The new energy vehicle market has maintained a high outlook, and the demand for power batteries has continued to grow. However, the price rise and supply shortage of various lithium battery raw materials in the upstream have led to the rise of production costs and the obstruction of capacity release of battery enterprises.” In Wu Zhen’s view, the next stage is likely to usher in an industry “elimination competition”. Enterprises with strong R & D ability and comprehensive strategic ability will grow rapidly, while those with weak R & D ability and market prediction ability are likely to be eliminated.
The power battery is equivalent to the “heart” of new energy vehicles, and its quality determines the “hard indicators” such as vehicle endurance and safety performance. As the new energy vehicle market continues to be popular, there is a lack of power batteries and high-quality power batteries in the market.
“The high-quality capacity of the power battery industry is insufficient, and the low-end overcapacity is an important reason for the ‘battery shortage’.” Zhu Jing, director of the ” Shenzhen Senior Technology Material Co.Ltd(300568) ” office, believes that battery manufacturers should be more aware of risks and challenges. On the one hand, they should practice their internal skills in a down-to-earth manner to improve battery performance; On the other hand, “look up at the sky” and make a more scientific and accurate strategic judgment in the complex market environment. For example, some enterprises study and judge the shortage of battery raw materials and prepare and store goods in advance. Some enterprises plan to expand production in advance to make full preparations for enterprises to catch up with orders and compete.
The rising price of raw materials has generally increased the pressure on power battery manufacturers, especially small and medium-sized power battery manufacturers. “Lithium, cobalt and nickel resources are mostly concentrated overseas and monopolized by the head mining group.” Zhou Tianyu, an analyst in the lithium battery industry of an information enterprise, said that if battery manufacturers do not improve the “hard index” of batteries and have no core competitiveness, they will be at a disadvantage in price negotiation. However, blindly sacrificing costs to catch up with orders is not a long-term plan.
Break through the encirclement and expand production capacity to alleviate the “battery shortage”
In order to alleviate the “battery shortage” and undertake more orders, many power battery enterprises are actively preparing to expand production.
” Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) ” located in Liyang City said that it was starting to expand production capacity, which would take about 2-5 years. Some new energy vehicle manufacturers are also seeking changes and choose to carry out in-depth cooperation with battery suppliers and jointly establish battery factories. For example, Volkswagen recently announced cooperation with ” Gotion High-Tech Co.Ltd(002074) ” to jointly promote the industrial production of battery cells.
“AVIC lithium battery” is also embarking on the “production expansion plan” and has set a goal: the planned production capacity is 500 + GWH by 2025 “The operation capacity of large-scale production capacity is also one of the core capabilities of current power battery enterprises.” Wu Zhen believes that the stable supply capacity of enterprises is an important factor in seizing the market.
“In addition to expanding production capacity, we will also seize the key move of technology research and development, highlight the advantages of product differentiation and enhance competitiveness.” Zhu Jing said that the company’s main product is lithium battery diaphragm, and the main raw material is polyolefin. Compared with the soaring price of metal raw materials, the raw material cost pressure is less. As one of the key materials of power battery, diaphragm plays an important role in the performance of power battery. This year, ” Shenzhen Senior Technology Material Co.Ltd(300568) ” will continue to increase investment in technology research and development, accelerate the introduction of “new, excellent and special” diaphragm products, and help battery enterprises speed up the research and development of safer and higher energy density power batteries.
Open up “weak points” and forge “gold skills”
In recent years, the power battery has developed into a “upstart” made in Jiangsu. With the continuous upgrading of new technologies, it continues to contribute new growth points to regional development. The survey shows that at present, a number of power battery head enterprises in Jiangsu have been full of orders this year, and some enterprises even reject new orders.
According to the data of the Provincial Department of industry and information technology, at present, there are more than 160 enterprises related to the power battery industry chain in the province, and the integrity of the industrial chain has increased from 85% at the end of 2020 to 94%, forming an industrial pattern with Changzhou and Nanjing as the core and multi-point layout in Suzhou, Wuxi, Yancheng and Zhenjiang.
“In Jiangsu, the power battery track is wide enough but not strong enough. At present, the total capacity planned everywhere is very large, but the capacity of truly marketable products is not enough.” Yang Kai, Secretary General of Jiangsu power and energy storage battery industry innovation alliance, said that in view of the current bottleneck, our province has established a special power battery class to work together with relevant departments, enterprises, scientific research institutes and universities to open up “weak points” and forge “golden skills”.
How to escort the power battery industry to “break the waves”? Yang Kai introduced that our province will strengthen technology leadership, such as developing new system batteries with more environmental protection and low carbon, so as to improve production capacity without affecting the realization of the “double carbon” goal; Secondly, strengthen the cultivation of leading enterprises, drive small and medium-sized enterprises and build an industry ecosystem; In addition, efforts have been made to solve the problem of high dependence on the import of raw materials of power batteries, vigorously study the mechanism and technology of power battery recycling, and strive to increase the extraction and utilization rate of retired batteries to more than 70%; At the same time, promote the establishment of battery standards, develop shared battery packs, promote new models such as battery leasing, strengthen the support of technological innovation and standardization of power exchange, and explore the “new scene” of shared power exchange.
