Behind the hot sales of BAIC new energy vehicles, look at how automakers choose power batteries

BAIC EC180 became the biggest dark horse in the domestic new energy vehicle market in the first half of the year. Data shows that the EC180 launched on the market in January this year has accumulated 2,2007 sales in the first seven months.

Behind the surge in sales, as a power battery company, it is more concerned about how BAIC New Energy chooses power batteries. Being able to meet the requirements of OEMs in terms of technology and products, and supporting production capacity is also a top priority for power battery companies.

'Running range, safety, and cost are currently the core concerns of car companies when choosing power batteries. This requires car companies and power battery companies to work together.'

Recently At the 2017 International Electric Vehicle Power Battery Industry Development and Technology Innovation Summit, Yang Zhongke, director of the battery engineering department of BAIC New Energy, introduced in a keynote speech entitled 'Comprehensive Performance Requirements and Product Selection of Power Battery for Pure Electric Passenger Vehicles' BAIC New Energy has specific requirements and directions for power batteries.

Yang Chongke, director of the battery engineering department of BAIC New Energy

Yang Chongke introduced that the improvement of the mileage is mainly through three aspects, one is the improvement of the energy density of the battery cell , The second is the lightweight and compact PACK, and the third is the improvement of system energy efficiency.

'Battery companies are already consciously working on the improvement of cell energy density and have specific plans, but in the second and third parts, they have not attracted much attention at present. 'Yang Zhongke said.

In fact, PACK lightweight is a comprehensive manifestation of the integrated application of materials, processes and structures. In the application of new materials, some basic aluminum profiles and composite materials are included. In the new technology, aluminum alloy composite technology, extrusion aluminum profile technology, etc. are more feasible process plans.

In terms of integrated design, Yang Zhongke introduced that we can focus on PACK design and modular design. PACK design is the concept of integrated car package design proposed by many car companies. De-modularity is also called non-modularity design. The main core ideas of these two designs are to reduce the use of materials and increase the cruising range, while also making a certain contribution to the future cost reduction.

In terms of the improvement of system energy efficiency, the current battery/system weight ratio of BAIC New Energy is 0.67, and its target for 2020 is 0.8. To achieve such a target, Yang Zhongke said that it can be achieved through three The first is material optimization, the development of high-strength and low-quality materials, the second is electrical optimization, which is achieved through the integrated integration of electrical devices, and the third is structural optimization. The system structure can be optimized through CAE to beautify structural parts; Improved through the integrated design and development of the car package.

In terms of battery safety, Yang Zhongke believes that a misunderstanding that currently exists is that batteries must be made the safest first, so a lot of energy and resources are invested in battery safety. However, the safety design of the system is relatively backward.

'As the current battery energy density increases very quickly, at the same time, the market urgently needs products to be launched on a large scale. Under this contradiction, strengthen investment in system safety design It is worth paying attention to by car companies and battery companies.” Yang Zhongke emphasized that investment in system safety design should be strengthened, and product integrated application safety should be realized through multi-level and multi-dimensional design from a system perspective.

For the current development of the domestic power battery field, Yang Zhongke believes that despite the excess investment in production capacity, there is still a lack of high-quality power batteries. If battery companies can improve battery quality, they can make breakthroughs from the supply side. At the same time, it is a good opportunity for battery companies to find out the market positioning of market segments, such as fast charging demand.

'From the perspective of car companies, the domestic power battery market is relatively fault-tolerant. Although it is not a good thing, it actually gives many battery companies a great opportunity, as long as they can seize market demand If you have your own characteristics in the product, you may get a chance to survive and develop.'