Based on the advantages of safety and energy density, solid-state batteries are considered the next generation technology route for liquid batteries. Nowadays, as the problem of mass production of solid-state batteries has not been completely solved, semi-solid state batteries, as a transitional route, are facing a sustained hot market.

And this year, the installed capacity of semi-solid state batteries is rapidly increasing, and the trend of installing semi-solid state batteries is coming.

From January to April this year, the installed capacity of semi-solid state batteries reached 1.1 GWh, and the mass production and delivery of GWh were officially achieved within the year.

From the perspective of growth rate, the installation speed of semi-solid state batteries has shown a high-speed growth trend from the beginning of the year to the present. In February of this year, the installed capacity of semi-solid state batteries in China was only 166.6 MWh. By April of this year, the installed capacity of semi-solid state batteries in China had climbed to 369 MWh.

The rapid growth of semi-solid state battery installation is mainly due to two factors.

One is the continuous maturity of the industrial chain.

From the perspective of battery companies, analyzing data, it can be seen that the installed capacity of semi-solid batteries from January to April mainly came from Weilan New Energy. It is reported that Weilan New Energy began mass production and delivery of NIO cars at the end of 2023, and has been designated by multiple vehicle manufacturers. The delivery volume continues to expand this year.

In terms of material enterprises, Rongbai Technology stated that the company has developed multiple high nickel/ultra-high nickel ternary positive electrode materials suitable for semi/all solid state batteries, among which the battery products matched with the positive electrode materials of semi-solid state batteries have been applied to end customer vehicle models; Tianli Lithium 9 series high nickel products have completed small-scale and pilot tests in solid-state battery enterprises.

Enjie Group stated that it has cooperated with Weilan New Energy and Liyang Tianmu Pioneer to establish the Jiangsu Sanhe layout in the field of semi-solid batteries. Currently, the Jiangsu Sanhe equipment has been installed and has mass production capacity.

The second is the installation enthusiasm in the downstream application market.

Currently, semi-solid batteries are gradually being installed on vehicles, accelerating their commercial application. Except for Changan and GAC, NIO, BMW, Toyota and others have successively announced the installation nodes of solid-state batteries. Before fully implementing the installation of solid-state batteries, semi-solid batteries have also become a substitute for major automotive companies as a transitional route. The industry also generally believes that the gradual transition from semi-solid to all solid state is still the research direction of power batteries in the future.

At present, many companies in the industry are accelerating the mass production and installation process of semi-solid batteries. NIO, Zhiji, Dongfeng, Changan, GAC and other vehicle companies have achieved or are about to achieve mass production and installation of semi-solid batteries.

According to the prediction data from GGII, 2024 will be an important milestone in the development of the solid-state battery industry, and it is expected to achieve large-scale loading and application of (semi) solid-state batteries within this year. It is expected that the total installed capacity for the year will historically exceed the 5GWh mark.

In addition, the application potential of semi-solid state batteries is not limited to electric vehicles. In the field of higher energy density, semi-solid/all solid state batteries will also become a key technology to support low altitude economy. This also brings greater space for the application of semi-solid state batteries.

However, it should also be noted that cost remains a significant obstacle to current semi-solid state batteries. For example, the pre-sale price of the Zhiji L6 Max Standard Edition is "no more than 230000 yuan," while the pre-sale price of the Zhiji L6 Max Lightyear Edition equipped with the "first generation light-year semi-solid battery" is "no more than 330000 yuan."; The NIO 150kWh battery pack, which has been put into operation by NIO, only adopts a "rent only, not sell" approach. NIO Auto officials stated that "due to cost, manufacturing, and other reasons, the initial battery supply was insufficient. Renting only, not selling, can maximize battery utilization efficiency and allow more people to use and experience the 150kWh battery pack."

The promotion of all solid-state batteries to the market is even more arduous. Ningde Times is also cautious about its attitude towards solid-state batteries. Wu Kai, the chief scientist of Ningde Times, recently stated that if technology and manufacturing maturity are used as evaluation criteria (on a scale of 1-9), Ningde Times' research and development of all solid-state batteries is currently at a level of 4.

Despite the rapid increase in installed capacity and the commercial turning point of semi-solid state batteries, there is still a certain distance in terms of cost and production capacity from the full commercial use of semi-solid/all solid state batteries.