Since its launch last year, the popularity of BYD blade batteries has been maintained at a high level, which has enabled BYD to drive the lithium iron phosphate battery industry almost on its own.

In the first quarter of this year, the price of lithium iron phosphate materials increased by 29.73%, and the nearly 30% increase can also prove the increase in demand for blade batteries from the side.

The increase in demand is naturally due to the increase in models equipped with blade batteries.

On April 7, at a huge press conference, BYD announced that all its electric models will be equipped with blade batteries, and released 2021 Tang EV, Qin PLUS EV, Song PLUS EV, and 2021 e2 with blade batteries. Four new cars. At the same time, BYD also announced that it will fully use acupuncture testing as an enterprise standard.

In fact, compared to the release of new cars, the full use of acupuncture testing as an enterprise standard is the focus of BYD’s press conference. From BYD’s chairman Wang Chuanfu himself on the platform and said “safety is the greatest luxury of electric vehicles”, it is not difficult to see that BYD has repeatedly sent an important signal to the outside world: blade batteries are safer.

From the first day of the birth of the blade battery, Wang Chuanfu’s BYD has been promoting the blade battery with “safety” as a selling point. Although in terms of battery characteristics, the lithium iron phosphate battery used in the blade battery is inferior to the more costly ternary lithium battery in terms of energy density and low temperature capacity, so it has a slight disadvantage in terms of “endurance range” and “low temperature environment performance”. But in terms of durability, cost control, high temperature resistance and safety, lithium iron phosphate batteries have more advantages. In particular, it is more stable during fast charging and there is no risk of explosion when subjected to impact. These two points have almost become the “killer” of lithium phosphate batteries. These excellent characteristics have also prompted BYD to further strengthen the route of lithium iron phosphate batteries.

In order to further deepen everyone’s understanding of the safety of power batteries, at the press conference, Wang Chuanfu gave a bold and true hypothesis: With the gradual increase in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the future, new energy vehicles equipped with lithium batteries will appear in traffic. The probability of an accident will also increase. If the door is deformed and cannot be opened in a serious traffic accident, and “the stability of the power battery is not high, and the phenomenon of combustion and heat generation occurs, the consequences will be unimaginable.” Judging from the endless spontaneous combustion of electric vehicles in recent years, Wang Chuanfu’s assumption is not unreasonable.

The choice of the market gives BYD greater confidence.

According to data from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers and Prospective Industry Research Institute, ternary lithium batteries totaled 38.9GWh, accounting for 61.1%, and a cumulative decrease of 4.1%. Lithium iron phosphate batteries installed 24.4GWh, accounting for 38.3%. The cumulative increase was 20.6%.

However, in December last year, the domestic power battery installed capacity was 13GWh, a year-on-year increase of 33.4%. Among them, ternary lithium batteries totaled 6GWh, a year-on-year increase of 24.9%, and lithium iron phosphate batteries totaled 6.9GWh, a year-on-year increase of 45.5%. Realize the go-ahead to the ternary lithium battery.

The substantial increase in the loading of lithium iron phosphate batteries is inseparable from the hot sales of blade battery models represented by BYD Han.

Since its launch last year, BYD Han’s sales have gradually stabilized at an average monthly level of 10,000 vehicles. As a large sedan with an independent brand that sells for more than 200,000 yuan, it is rare to achieve such results.

At this press conference, BYD also disclosed the “heavy truck rolling test” for the first time. Testers randomly removed the battery pack of a Han EV. After a 46-ton heavy truck rolled, the battery pack was not only safe and sound, but also reinstalled. After the original car, the Han EV can still drive normally. Although this is BYD’s “invented” test project, the actual axle load on the battery is not a complete 46 tons (estimated not to exceed 20 tons), but it can be seen that the blade battery has structural strength and collision resistance. The confidence.

Regarding the blade battery, Wang Chuanfu proudly said: “After the release of the blade battery, almost every car brand you can think of is negotiating cooperation with Fordy Battery.” In addition, he also said that the current blade battery production capacity is rapidly increasing. Po, and will start supplying to the entire industry in the second half of this year.

Although the only open partner is the Hongqi brand, “in the future, everyone will be able to see blade batteries, which will be successively mounted on new energy vehicles of mainstream brands at home and abroad.”

On April 2, Li Yunfei, deputy general manager of BYD Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., said that the possibility of accelerating business expansion through the listing of Verdi batteries cannot be ruled out.

Selling batteries to companies that want to build cars is undoubtedly a good business, but due to the characteristics of lithium iron phosphate batteries, it is currently difficult to increase the cruising range to a greater extent without significantly increasing the weight of the battery.

However, BYD is obviously full of confidence in the future of blade batteries.

According to official data, BYD Verdi Battery currently has six production bases in Chongqing, Shenzhen, Xi’an, Qinghai, Changsha and Guiyang. Among them, Verdi Battery Chongqing Plant is the world’s first blade battery plant with a capacity of 20GWh; Changsha Plant is the first in the world. The blade battery production line was also officially put into operation at the end of 2020, with a designed annual production capacity of 20GWh; in addition, the Bengbu Fordy project with an investment of 6 billion yuan has started construction, with a planned annual production capacity of 10GWh in the first phase; the Guiyang plant will also be put into operation in 2012. According to BYD’s plan, the total capacity of blade batteries is expected to reach 75GWh by the end of 2021, and the capacity may further rise to 100GWh by the end of 2022.