What’s Next for China Power Battery Market?
Apart from chip-shortage, an industry-wide shortage of power batteries will also continue to hamper EV production in China for the next few months.
Nio, for example, had achieved a production rate of 10,000 vehicles during the Chinese New Year in February. However, the company expects monthly output to remain at around 7,500 units throughout the second quarter due to lower-than-estimated battery supply.
Battery shortages haven’t spared any manufacturer and other Chinese EV players are also in the same boat. Xiaopeng and Li Auto, two giants of EV manufacturing in China, both reported lower deliveries and even stagnating deliveries in May due to the battery shortage. Li Auto, for instance, just delivered 4323 vehicles in May, down from April's numbers, shown by Barrons. As a result, last month Li Auto stock price fell by about 15% and Xpeng stock price declined by about 11%, according to Forbes. Investors are likely concerned that the battery shortage which is weighing on the automotive industry could increasingly impact Chinese EV players.
In terms of battery materials, current power batteries are mainly lithium-ion, but the next generation of batteries with new materials is not far away.
A Chinese battery supplier giant CATL announced recently that they will release sodium-ion batteries around July this year. This means that power battery technology will see a major innovation. The mechanism of sodium-ion batteries is similar to lithium-ion batteries, mainly by moving sodium ions between positive and negative electrodes. It is expected the cost of sodium-ion batteries will be lower in the long run as the key component, sodium, is more abundant and cheaper than lithium.
It is noticeable that technology innovation and sustainable materials are the future of power batteries. For electric vehicles to come into more widespread use, batteries must become even more powerful, durable, sustainable and cost-effective. Sodium-ion rechargeable batteries could be a cheaper and resource-saving alternative to current lithium-ion batteries. With more research and development, there is a chance that sodium-ion batteries will replace lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones and laptops.
Source : NIO
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