Following new energy vehicles and energy storage, lithium batteries seem to be ushering in a new app store.

Recently, battery manufacturers such as CATL and Zhengli Xinneng have launched power lithium batteries for manned aviation. From the perspective of the application side, the research and development and mass production of eVTOL (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing) and flying cars are progressing steadily; the industry expects that electric aircraft carrying 20 to 40 passengers may become a reality within 7-10 years.

As a new application scenario, what stage has the technology of aviation power lithium battery developed? How much increment will it bring to the power lithium battery market in the future?

The data shows that in 2022, China will ship 655GWh of lithium-ion batteries. Among them, the power battery market shipped 480GWh, accounting for 73.28% of the shipment; the energy storage battery shipped 130GWh, accounting for 19.85% of the shipment; other types of lithium-ion batteries including consumer batteries shipped 45GWh, accounting for 6.87% of the shipment.

LiFePO4 battery for solar energy storage

Three application scenarios of aviation power lithium battery

From the perspective of downstream applications, the person in charge of a leading power battery factory in China said that at present, eVTOL is a visible application scenario. Some investment institutions predict that the global market size of eVTOL will reach hundreds of billions of dollars in 2030, of which batteries will account for about 20% -30%.

"At present, eVTOL focuses on cooperating with airlines to provide point-to-point transportation services for high-net-worth customers." The person in charge said, but it is unlikely to form a scale effect in a short period of time. The US FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has the fastest certification progress, but it has not yet reached the commercial stage.

Pei Yun, a partner of Far Wing Investment Technology, also said before that eVTOL also needs to solve problems such as airspace, power, safety, noise, and cost, and does not expect to be put into commercial use on a large scale in the short term.

The second application scenario is flying cars.

Guohai Securities believes that in the case of limited development of two-dimensional space, car companies and technology companies are aiming at three-dimensional transportation space, and flying cars have broad prospects. Flying cars are still in the initial stage of development, and they still face problems such as high technical costs, insufficient safety, and inadequate management and supervision.

According to incomplete statistics, at present, GM, Porsche, Xiaopeng, GAC and other domestic and foreign car companies, Intel, Uber and other technology companies are deploying flying cars. As of 2021, more than 200 companies or institutions around the world are developing flying car products, with about 420 models.

Among them, XPeng Motors-W (09868.HK) 's Xiaopeng Huitian flying car traveler X2 will complete its first overseas public flight in Dubai in 2022. The company also announced that the flying car will be mass-produced as soon as 2024, and the estimated price is about one million yuan.

12v 20ah 100ah 120ah 180ah 200ah lithium ion solar battery with charger digital battery

Finally, in terms of civil aviation airliners, Cheryl Bergman, technical director of NASA's gas-electric hybrid propulsion project, once said that driving a large aircraft in a cruising state requires an energy density of at least 1000Wh/kg. Li Hong, a researcher at the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out that the batteries currently on the market are between 200-260Wh/kg. According to the growth rate of energy density in the industry in the past, it will take many years to develop a secondary battery of 800-1000Wh/kg (a battery that can be recycled through charge and discharge).

"We are also discussing with some customers." Yu Zhexun, chief product officer of Zhengli Xinneng, said that future applications in the field of civil aviation aircraft are also possible.

Yu Zhexun said that it may be used in the field of civil aviation passenger aircraft in a hybrid mode at first. When taking off or landing requires relatively large power, batteries can be used in addition to jet fuel to improve power performance; in level flight cruising When a lot of power is not required, oil can be used, which greatly improves fuel economy. As for pure electrification, longer-range routes or intercontinental routes are estimated to be unrealistic, but some close-range regional flights may have applications in the future. Of course, this is on the premise that battery-based technology has greatly improved and can solve the problem of energy density and endurance.

BYPower Club

Power lithium battery opens a new scene in aviation

New materials make aqueous zinc-ion batteries safer and longer

Glencore Plc partnered with Li-Cycle to develop the biggest battery recycling center in Europe.