On August 28, Great Power, which in Chinese is known as Penghui Energy, held a new product launch press conference to unveil its all-solid state battery. Some key features are that it boasts a 280 Wh/kg energy density and it is expected to be mass-produced in 2026. Furthermore, Great Power claims that it expects to be able to produce the battery at only a 15% higher cost than that of current lithium batteries. The battery itself has a capacity specification of 20 Ah.
At the unveiling, the Guangzhou based company said that there are currently three mainstream technical routes for achieving an all-solid state battery. These are polymer, sulfur/halide, and oxide – Great Power says that it has chosen the oxide route. The company claims to have solved the process and technical problems of an oxide solid-state electrolyte and to have achieved a two-way breakthrough in the process and materials of solid-state batteries.
Usually, an oxide solid electrolyte needs to be produced using a high-temperature sintering process, creating an inherent brittleness of ceramic materials. Great Power has created an electrolyte wet coating process which solves the problem of oxide electrolyte preparation and greatly simplifies the production process. The battery displayed at the unveiling is the first generation product. Due to the simplified production process it’s expected that the cost will only be about 15% higher than that of today’s conventional lithium batteries. With further optimization of the process and reduction in material costs, it’s expected that over the next three to five years, the cost can reach parity.
The battery uses an inorganic solid-state electrolyte to replace the separator and electrolyte, thereby eliminating the safety hazard of an organic electrolyte. This opens up more possibilities for the development of the next generation of high-performance solid-state batteries.
Great Power claims that its solid-state battery has a life of 600 cycles of charging and discharging and that this can be done in ambient temperatures of -20°C~85°C. Currently, the energy density is 280 Wh/kg but Great Power believe that in 2025 the battery will be capable of over 300 Wh/kg, this will be through using a higher proportion of silicon-based anode. Pilot research and development, along with small-scale production, will be launched in 2025, and following that, a production line and full mass production will be established in 2026.
Great Power was established in 2001 as a lithium-ion battery producer. The company does produce batteries for EVs, but this is just one of five main business areas; the company appears to be more focused on energy storage.
Editor’s note:
This is exciting news but we will have to wait to see whether Great Power can really deliver upon its promises and produce such a battery at scale and for the cost they claim.
True solid-state batteries are considered to be the holy grail of battery technology thanks to their high energy density, stability, and, by extension, safety, as well as their ability to operate across a wide range of temperatures. However, the battery announced by Great Power doesn’t seem to have that high an energy density, at 280 Wh/kg.
Source: Fast Technology
