At the 36th China International Automotive Aftermarket Industry and Tuning (CIAACE) Exhibition, also known as the YASN Beijing Expo, the new energy vehicle (NEV) supply chain took center stage. With China's annual NEV production and sales surpassing 12 million units, battery technology innovation has become the core driving force for industry breakthroughs.
For the first time, the exhibition featured a dedicated EV dismantling session, putting the real-world performance and future direction of battery technology under the spotlight. The competition in the "post-lithium battery era" has officially begun. From laboratory advancements in solid-state batteries to practical applications of hydrogen energy, next-generation battery technologies are evolving at an unprecedented pace, injecting new vitality into the future of new energy vehicles.
Dissecting New Energy Vehicles to Decode the Future of Battery Technology
At this year’s YASN Beijing Expo, the official EV teardown event undoubtedly became the centerpiece of attention, drawing a large number of industry professionals.
Technical experts conducted live teardowns of several best-selling new energy vehicles, including the Xiaomi SU7, Tesla Model Y, and BYD models, offering in-depth analysis of battery safety, electronic control systems, and intelligent architecture. During the teardown session, the Tesla Model Y's battery pack sparked widespread discussion thanks to its outstanding energy density and range. According to on-site engineers, the Model Y's battery pack delivers an energy density of up to 280Wh/kg—significantly higher than some competitors in its class—demonstrating Tesla’s leading edge in battery technology.
It is worth mentioning that during the teardown session, the battery module structure of the Tesla Model Y attracted considerable attention and discussion among engineers. Its unique energy management system design allows for efficient utilization of battery energy, making it one of the key highlights of the exhibition.
BYD’s lithium iron phosphate "Blade Battery" stood out for its exceptional safety features. Its distinctive structural design effectively enhances the battery's safety, significantly reducing the risk of thermal runaway, providing a strong guarantee for the safe operation of new energy vehicles.
Additionally, the Xiaomi SU7 showcased impressive innovation in fast-charging technology and battery-vehicle system optimization. Its battery system sparked widespread discussion among engineers at the teardown session, with many praising Xiaomi’s innovative approach in the new energy vehicle sector.
These teardowns send a clear signal: with the rapid development of the new energy vehicle market, consumers' demands for battery performance, safety, range, and fast-charging capabilities are increasing. The market is moving toward battery technologies that offer higher energy density, greater safety and reliability, faster charging speeds, and longer service life.
From the teardown demonstrations at the event, it is clear that the market has an urgent demand for high energy density batteries. To meet consumer expectations for long-range new energy vehicles, increasing battery energy density has become a key focus. An engineer participating in the teardown session commented, "The energy density of current lithium-ion batteries is nearing its physical limits. To achieve higher driving ranges, we must explore new battery technologies."
At the same time, safety remains a core consideration in the development of battery technology. Ensuring the safety of batteries during use is essential to protecting the lives and property of users. Additionally, cost is a critical factor influencing the development of battery technology and its market adoption. Lowering battery costs would reduce the overall vehicle price, thus promoting the widespread adoption and development of new energy vehicles.
The Current Limitations of Battery Technology and the Dawn of New Battery Innovations
Although lithium batteries currently dominate the new energy vehicle (NEV) and energy storage sectors, they are far from perfect. The energy density of traditional lithium batteries is nearing its theoretical limit, restricting further increases in the driving range of new energy vehicles. During the teardown session, a certain brand's battery pack had an energy density of only 260Wh/kg, demonstrating limited room for range improvement. This data clearly highlights the bottleneck in energy density for lithium batteries.
Another major issue with lithium batteries is their long charging time. During the exhibition forum, several experts pointed out that the charging efficiency of lithium batteries urgently needs to be improved to meet consumer demand for fast charging. In the fast-paced modern lifestyle, long charging times undoubtedly affect the user experience.
In addition, lithium batteries are sensitive to temperature and have a relatively narrow operating temperature range. During the teardown session, technicians demonstrated their thermal runaway protection solutions, but it remains challenging to completely eliminate the impact of high or low temperatures on the performance of lithium batteries. This necessitates strict temperature control during the use of lithium batteries to ensure their performance and safety.
From a resource perspective, lithium battery production relies on rare metals such as lithium and cobalt. As demand continues to grow, the risk of shortages in these metal resources is increasing, posing a challenge to the cost and sustainability of lithium batteries. Therefore, it is essential to actively explore alternative materials or develop new battery technologies to reduce reliance on rare metals.
To overcome the limitations of lithium batteries, new battery technologies are emerging. Hydrogen batteries, solid-state batteries, and fuel cells have become key areas of research and development.
Solid-state batteries are globally recognized as the next-generation battery technology, with their biggest innovation being the use of a solid-state electrolyte to replace the traditional liquid electrolyte and separator in lithium batteries. This change significantly enhances the safety and energy density of solid-state batteries. Solid-state electrolytes offer higher thermal stability, effectively avoiding the safety risks of flammability and explosion associated with liquid electrolytes. In terms of energy density, solid-state batteries have a more compact structure, typically achieving 30%-50% higher energy density than traditional liquid lithium batteries.
At the exhibition, TaiLan New Energy showcased its advanced solid-state battery technology and products, including a 720Wh/kg all-solid-state lithium battery, a series of membrane-free solid-state lithium batteries, and high energy, ultra-fast charging semi-solid-state lithium batteries, among other models and product series. Among these, the membrane-free solid-state battery, one of TaiLan New Energy’s core technologies, offers the advantage of reducing dependence on traditional separator materials and some electrolyte usage. This not only lowers raw material costs but also improves the safety and performance of the battery. Based on this membrane-free technology, TaiLan New Energy’s membrane-free lithium iron phosphate semi-solid-state battery has passed thermal box tests at 200°C, far exceeding the national standard requirement of 130°C, with overcharge voltage tolerance reaching 19V, a 200% improvement over the national standard of 5.5V.
Solid-state batteries boast core advantages in high energy density, high power output, high safety, long lifespan, and rapid recharging, positioning them as a crucial direction in battery technology development with promising market prospects. However, solid-state batteries also face challenges, such as the need for ongoing improvement in the stability of electrolyte materials and relatively high manufacturing costs.
Hydrogen fuel cells offer significant advantages such as environmental friendliness and high efficiency, with energy conversion efficiency much higher than that of traditional internal combustion engines. In the transportation sector, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have shown tremendous application potential. At this exhibition, Hydrogen Pu Chuang Neng showcased its fifth and sixth generation fuel cells, which attracted great attention from domestic and international professionals and industry experts due to their core advantages, including high power density, high power output, high stability, and zero carbon emissions. Notably, the sixth-generation fuel cell stack has a single stack power of 300kW and a volume power density of 4.6kW/L. Its key indicators, such as active area, durability, and service life, are at the leading level in the industry.
Guohong Hydrogen Energy focused on showcasing its self-developed Hongtu fuel cell system, which features the latest generation of Hongxin fuel cell stacks. With advantages such as high efficiency, long lifespan, high stability, strong environmental adaptability, and high integration, the system became another focal point of hydrogen fuel cells at the exhibition. It is worth noting that the Hongtu series products have already been successfully applied in various transportation scenarios, including commercial vehicles, mining trucks, buses, and logistics vehicles, receiving positive market feedback. In already operational projects, the Hongtu H120 fuel cell system, installed in a fully loaded 49-ton hydrogen energy heavy-duty truck, consumes less than 7 kg of hydrogen per 100 km, demonstrating excellent performance in energy-saving and emission reduction.
However, the development of hydrogen fuel cells also faces some challenges, such as the high costs of hydrogen refueling stations. Experts from Weishi Energy pointed out at the exhibition forum that the construction cost of a single refueling station exceeds 12 million yuan, which limits the widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Therefore, it is crucial to actively promote the construction of hydrogen refueling stations and reduce costs to provide strong support for the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
During the exhibition, several exhibitors in the battery technology field expressed great confidence in the future of new battery technologies. TaiLan New Energy pointed out that solid-state batteries are globally recognized as the next-generation battery technology. Through its "material reduction manufacturing" approach, the membrane-free technology can enhance energy density to 750Wh/kg while ensuring safety performance. In the future, it aims to further break the performance ceiling of liquid batteries through material innovation and process optimization. ShenZhou Giant Electric emphasized that high-safety batteries must address thermal runaway issues at the cell design level. Its unique single large-capacity solid-state polymer battery, using a purely series structure (not parallel), combined with remote sensing monitoring technology, has already achieved breakthrough indicators such as no flames in shooting tests and 8,000 cycle life. The strategic planning leader of Hydrogen Pure Energy stated that the commercialization process of hydrogen fuel cells in heavy-duty trucks, ships, and other sectors is accelerating. Its 300kW fuel cell stack technology has been successfully applied in hydrogen-powered ship projects. In the future, the company plans to lower system costs through mass production and build a complete "green electricity - green hydrogen - green use" ecological chain.
In addition, overseas procurement trends also show a strong demand for new battery technologies. Guo Hao from Youlv Youpin stated, "The proportion of European customers inquiring about hydrogen fuel cell accessories has increased by 40% compared to last year." This data indicates that the overseas market's interest in hydrogen fuel cell technology is growing, providing ample space for the international development of new battery technologies.
Suggestions for Technological Innovation and Future Outlook
Based on the development trends of new battery technologies and the limitations of lithium-ion batteries, the future development of battery technology needs to move towards several key directions and adopt innovative measures in various aspects.
In terms of improving energy density, continuous exploration of new materials and battery structures is essential. For example, research into silicon-based materials for the anode shows that silicon theoretically has a much higher specific capacity than traditional graphite anodes, which could significantly improve battery energy density. However, there are issues such as significant volume expansion of silicon during charging and discharging that need to be addressed through techniques like nanotechnology and composite structural design.
Solving the fast-charging problem requires addressing multiple aspects, including battery materials, charging strategies, and charging equipment. At the material level, developing electrolytes with high ionic conductivity, optimizing electrode materials, and reducing their impedance can enhance lithium-ion diffusion speed. In terms of charging strategies, intelligent charging algorithms should be adopted to dynamically adjust charging voltage and current based on the battery's real-time state. As for charging equipment, accelerating the construction and popularization of high-power fast-charging facilities and improving the compatibility of charging infrastructure with various battery types and specifications are necessary.
Improving safety is a core task in the development of battery technology. For solid-state batteries, it is essential to resolve the interface compatibility between the solid-state electrolyte and the electrodes. Additionally, developing battery materials with higher thermal stability is critical to fundamentally reducing the risk of thermal runaway. At the same time, enhancing the development of battery management systems (BMS) to improve their ability to monitor battery status with greater accuracy is key.
In terms of cost control, on one hand, for new types of batteries such as hydrogen fuel cells and fuel cells, it is necessary to increase R&D investment, enhance the domestic production rate of key materials, and reduce reliance on imported materials. On the other hand, optimizing battery production processes to improve manufacturing efficiency and reduce production costs is equally important.
To achieve these battery technology innovation goals, efforts must be made from multiple angles. In materials research and development, increased investment in basic research on new battery materials should be encouraged, and joint industry-academia-research cooperation projects between universities, research institutions, and enterprises should be supported. On the technology collaboration front, battery companies should strengthen cooperation with OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), electronic device manufacturers, and other upstream and downstream industries to jointly promote the development of the new energy vehicle industry. Additionally, technical exchanges and cooperation between different battery technology companies can help share technological achievements and collectively solve technical challenges.
Policy support is essential. The government should implement relevant industry policies to encourage innovation in battery technology. For example, providing tax incentives and financial subsidies to companies developing new battery technologies; establishing industrial guidance funds to direct social capital into the field of battery technology innovation; strengthening the formulation and supervision of battery technology standards, regulating market order, and promoting the healthy development of the battery industry.
It is worth mentioning that at this year's Yasen Beijing Expo, some companies showcased their achievements and experiences in solid-state, fuel cell technology, and energy replenishment innovations. Additionally, some companies demonstrated their technologies and equipment for the recycling and disposal of used batteries, providing strong support for the sustainable development of battery technology.
Conclusion
Battery technology, as one of the key technologies in the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector, plays a vital role in the sustainable development of the industry. The future development directions, paths, and solutions for battery technology are of great significance for advancing the NEV industry. Through a deep analysis of the limitations of existing lithium batteries and an exploration of the future directions of new battery technologies, we can see that battery technology is evolving towards greater efficiency, safety, and environmental friendliness.
However, innovation in battery technology still faces numerous challenges and difficulties. To address these, we need to strengthen basic research and tackle key technological challenges, promote the coordinated development of the industrial chain, enhance international cooperation and exchange, drive the standardization and regulation of the industry, and cultivate and introduce more outstanding talents. Looking ahead, we have reason to believe that, with the joint efforts of all parties, battery technology will continue to achieve new breakthroughs and advancements, providing strong support for the sustainable development of the new energy vehicle industry. Let us join hands and work together to embrace a brighter future for battery technology.
