Will the production of 3,000 km aluminum air battery be mass-produced?

Since Tesla was sizzled, research on "high-tech batteries" has emerged. One type of battery is also known as the “black technology” in the battery industry – the aluminum air battery, which was once called “only 3,000 kilometers by water injection”. Recently, a listed company has been involved in this "black technology."

On October 22, Yun Aluminum Co., Ltd. announced that the company has set up a new company to invest in the construction of an aluminum air battery industrialization project. According to Yun Aluminum, the raw material of aluminum air battery is “green energy for the 21st century”. After the project is completed, it is expected to promote the upgrading of the battery industry.

So, what kind of technology is the aluminum air battery? For reference, in 2014, Alcoa Canada displayed an aluminum air battery product, saying that it can be used by filling with water, and the battery life can reach 3,000 kilometers. In contrast, Tesla's lithium battery lasted no more than 500 kilometers, which was once a sensation.

The development of aluminum air batteries has been controversial. Some experts in the industry told reporters that although the aluminum air battery "looks beautiful", the industrial chain is too immature than the lithium battery, and there are almost no domestic enterprises that can reach mass production. For the domestic capital market, the aluminum air battery is a "concept", and it will take at least 5 to 10 years to really promote it in the market.

Yun Aluminum: With project industrialization conditions

Lithium batteries have not yet matured, and new products that are "replaced" have received capital attention.

Yun Aluminum Co., Ltd. announced that the company and Chuangneng Co., Ltd. jointly invested in Yunnan Jinan Huichuang Green Energy Battery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Huichuang Green Energy) in Kunming Majinpu, with a registered capital of RMB 50 million. Among them, Yun Aluminum has a 95% stake and Chuangneng holds 5%. The new company will invest in a 20MW (MW) aluminum air battery production line.

In fact, this is not the first time that Yun Aluminum has been involved in the “Aluminum Air Battery” project. In August 2015, Yun Aluminum Co., Ltd. joined forces with Kunming Metallurgical Research Institute to establish a Chuangneng Company, and landed a 10MW aluminum air battery and electrolyte recovery R&D and production line with a total investment of 40 million yuan. A rough calculation, coupled with this capital contribution, Yun Aluminum shares invested nearly 100 million yuan in the aluminum air battery project within two years.

So, how is the progress of the project of real money and silver? According to the company, the aluminum air battery research and development project of the company has made significant progress. In particular, the core materials (air electrode, aluminum alloy electrode) of the aluminum air battery have achieved technical breakthroughs and are subject to project industrialization. However, the company did not mention the performance and advantages of specific products.

"Compared to lithium batteries, the advantage of aluminum air batteries is that they do not need to be recharged and have a long battery life. We are doing industrialization now." The relevant person of Kunming Metallurgical Research Institute told reporters that in addition to the prospect of product, the company is doing the project. It is also taking advantage of the local raw material price advantage in Yunnan. The source also revealed that the current application of the project in the car is not the main direction, "may be more biased towards civilian areas, such as production and living power, communications, computer room power supply, etc."

Compared with foreign companies, what is the performance of the battery that is being developed by Yun Aluminum? Can it achieve the super performance of Alcoa Canada's "replenishing water use, battery life of 3,000 kilometers"? In response to these problems, Wang Lan, the representative of Yun Aluminum Co., told reporters that it is not convenient to disclose more information. All the announcements of listed companies shall prevail.

Industry: It is difficult to achieve commercialization

In China, the company intends to build the "super battery". China Power was exposed last year to cooperate with Israel's PHINERGY company in an attempt to enter the field. In addition, Air Tian Technology, which is backed by the scientific research advantages of Tianjin University, has also been developing aluminum air batteries.

"Aluminum air battery may look 'beautiful', but it is still very difficult to achieve commercialization." Yu Qingjiao said bluntly that the industrial chain of metal fuel cells is still too immature, and there is no big domestic The conditions for mass production. In addition, technology and cost are the constraints that hinder it from becoming the mainstream of the market. These problems still need to be broken.

Metal fuel cells currently refer to both aluminum and zinc batteries. According to the analysis of the Qing dynasty, specifically, because the metal fuel cell is not charged, it is a disposable battery. Therefore, it is necessary to re-establish an industrial chain from manufacturing to transportation, to replacement, and then to recycling. This requires huge capital infrastructure construction, which has lost cost advantages compared with lithium batteries. In addition, the aluminum air battery has a relatively low power density and often requires the use of a lithium battery, which also results in a discount on its practicality.

"There are some listed companies doing aluminum air batteries, and more of it is a kind of 'concept'. While studying the project, I also hope that it can be sought after by the capital market. Metal fuel cells can only be said to be a kind of future. Direction, it is not realistic to get a commercial return within a few years." A person familiar with the battery industry told reporters.

"Lithium battery has been commercialized for more than 20 years, and the manufacturing system and marketing model are relatively mature. As a new thing, it takes time for the aluminum battery to be established. In the next 5 to 10 years, lithium batteries should remain the mainstream of the market." The person added.