Lithium battery: low speed electric vehicle

In October last year, the "four-wheel low-speed electric vehicle technical conditions" national standard was formally established, one of the relevant policy guidance is the power system from lead-acid battery to upgrade to lithium battery, this guidance has caused greater repercussions in the industry. So, what opportunities and challenges will the lithium electrochemical process of low-speed electric vehicles bring? Will the lithium battery upgrade give low-speed electric vehicle enterprises a chance to sublimate? The question is well worth exploring.

First, the low speed electric vehicle switching to lithium battery related demand

There are many reasons why low-speed electric vehicles can achieve such a large amount of application. On the whole, its price is limited to the range of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan or even lower. This price range plus loose local restrictions on the use of low-speed electric vehicles is the fuel for the rapid development of low-speed electric vehicles. If we discuss and compare according to the requirements of keeping this price range unchanged, we can get an overview of the battery system requirements of low-speed electric vehicles:

Hard demand: the total cost of a lithium battery needs to be comparable to existing costs

The performance of the whole system needs to be compatible with the current system

The supply model for lithium battery systems needs to be similar to the current model

Table 1 low speed electric vehicle battery demand overview

How to apply lithium battery to low speed electric vehicle?

Table 2 core advantages of lead-acid batteries for low-speed electric vehicles and the need to upgrade to lithium battery systems

How to apply lithium battery to low speed electric vehicle?

From the perspective of the system structure of low-speed electric vehicle, it is very important for each component to form a stable and relatively simple architecture, as shown in figure 1.

The LSV core supplier has completed the prototype and cost control of the entire system, leaving it to the manufacturer for assembly and construction

According to the existing system, the assembly and layout of the lithium battery system should be relatively simple. For the manufacturer, it is more important to put the battery cloth in the position that can be arranged. The available positions are as follows:

1. Front cabin: the power battery in the front cabin should pay more attention to the structural abuse of battery (structural invasion and loss, extrusion and acupuncture, etc.) caused by the collision of single vehicle and other vehicles;

2. Under the seat: the power battery arranged under the seat has more stringent requirements on flame retardant and time delay after the battery is on fire;

3. Power batteries are arranged in the rear cabin.

The rapid development of low-speed electric vehicles is directly related to the simplicity of the whole system and the ready-made core parts system. It can be seen that in terms of control and characteristics, the solutions of component suppliers are dominant.

How to apply lithium battery to low speed electric vehicle?

Figure 1 basic system architecture of low-speed vehicle

Ii. Safety of lithium battery

From the perspective of the worst situation, according to the "new energy vehicle fire rescue regulations" issued by the ministry of public security, due to some characteristics of lithium battery, road fire and rescue has also appeared new characteristics.

If the low-speed electric vehicle as required to cut into the lithium battery system, we have to consider the following issues:

1. Compared with the existing new energy vehicles, will the frequency of accidents increase? This comparison is mainly based on the following points: the quantity base of low-speed electric vehicles themselves, strict cost constraints, and the time problem of new introduction;

2. Does the existing market demand, the time required for the entire compliance process, and the short time for subsequent moq increase the risk? There have been many accidents in the development of new energy vehicles, and car companies have matured through trial and error of accidents and improvement of problems. They also have a relatively long time to implement development and system safety verification. ; However, the promotion of high market demand for low-speed electric vehicles will make the improvement process of relevant enterprises much shorter.

3. The market of low-speed electric vehicles is characterized by the dispersion of the private market. If the above two items are not done properly, it may lead to the secondary accidents after the spontaneous combustion of low-speed electric vehicles, which will affect the houses or other parked vehicles.

This is where lithium power comes in. No argument here. Industrial policy and the direction of the future are set. It can be expected that the performance and operating conditions of new energy vehicles will be degraded and reduced, but the development of national safety standards for new energy vehicles will be included in the core requirements for the safety of low-speed electric vehicles. It is an irresistible trend that every item may be adjusted and many items may be changed or changed.

Table 3 battery related safety tests

How to apply lithium battery to low speed electric vehicle?

Iii. Opportunity and prediction

1. Due to the possibility of security control in the above analysis, real-time monitoring of low-speed electric vehicles may be more complete than that of new energy vehicles; The local monitoring platform will become the main platform for the safety monitoring of low-speed electric vehicles.

2. At present, iron-lithium battery is mainly used in commercial vehicles and some special vehicles. With the market of commercial vehicles gradually becoming saturated in the next few years and the logistics vehicle market pursuing higher specific energy and energy density indexes, the sales volume of iron-lithium battery will be difficult to achieve double speed growth. In this trend, the lithium iron phosphate battery enterprises that need to pass the national standard in the field of battery cells and modules and are stuck with the subsidized energy density will shift their focus to the market of low-speed electric vehicles, which may be a high-probability event. In the future, as the competition pattern becomes clear, iron-lithium battery enterprises focusing on low-speed electric vehicles will emerge. However, the regional development pattern of low-speed electric vehicles may lead to the emergence of local protectionism.

3. Lithium electrification of low-speed electric vehicles is carried out under the condition of low cost of battery system, and safety is an unavoidable factor. In order to realize cost control and safety guarantee, power battery enterprises should first pull up the production capacity, and then use the b-type cells after grouping the performance parameters in the low-speed lithium battery system for electric vehicles, so as to obtain the price drop power.

4. In the process of lithium electrification of low-speed electric vehicles, it is easier for lithium battery enterprises and low-speed electric vehicle enterprises to form new partnerships and form mutual alliances or even acquisitions.

The page contains the contents of the machine translation.