Japan bets on all-solid-state batteries, 23 companies jointly develop

Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization recently announced that some of the country's companies and academic institutions will jointly develop the next generation of all-solid-state lithium batteries for electric vehicles in the next five years, striving to apply them to the new energy vehicle industry as soon as possible.

The project is expected to have a total investment of 10 billion yen (about 580 million yuan). 23 automobile, battery and material companies including Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Panasonic, as well as 15 academic institutions including Kyoto University and RIKEN will jointly participate in the research, and plan to fully master all-solid-state battery related technologies by 2022.

The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization of Japan stated that the next generation of automobiles (including clean diesel vehicles, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, etc.) is the future development direction of the global automobile industry. Many Japanese manufacturers have launched large-scale sales plans for pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and more efficient on-board batteries have therefore attracted much attention.

There is no gas or liquid in the structure of all-solid-state lithium batteries. All materials exist in solid form. The high density and high safety make them more advantageous than traditional liquid batteries, and they have broad application prospects in the field of new energy vehicles. Previously, the "Action Plan for Promoting the Development of the Automotive Power Battery Industry" issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other four ministries and commissions clearly proposed to increase investment in the research and development of new power lithium battery systems, including new batteries such as solid-state batteries.

One of the goals of the Japanese government to increase its research and development efforts in all-solid-state batteries is to regain its market dominance. In the field of automotive batteries, Japanese companies are at the forefront, accounting for 70% of the global market share in 2013, but Chinese companies, which only had a 3% market share in 2013, have expanded to 26% by 2016, while Japanese companies have reduced to 41%. Starting in May this year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan will invest 1.6 billion yen (about 93.49 million yuan) in the Lithium Battery Material Evaluation and Research Center (LIBTEC), a technology research association.

According to the technical goals set by Made in China 2025, the energy density of lithium batteries will reach 300Wh/kg in 2020, 400Wh/kg in 2025, and 500Wh/kg in 2030. Obviously, the medium- and long-term development of the new energy vehicle industry requires new technology reserves, and all-solid-state lithium batteries are expected to become the dominant technology route for the next generation of automotive power batteries.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.