Increased market demand for cylindrical battery full-tab technology

Cylindrical batteries with full-tab appears in many fields

The full tab process is different from the traditional single/double tab process, which turns the entire cathode or anode collector into a tab. Through the full-area connection between the current collector and the battery case or current collector plate, the internal resistance and heat generation of the battery can be greatly reduced, the problem of heating of high energy density cells can be solved, and the performance requirements of fast charging power can be met while ensuring high safety.

Thanks to the innovation of the full-tab technology, the technical route of cylindrical batteries has once again returned to the public eye. The trend of cylindrical batteries with full tabs is gradually emerging in many fields, and is facing an urgent demand for mass production.

● The first is the field of power batteries. From the perspective of drive research and development, model planning and battery orders, cylindrical full-tab batteries have become the unanimous choice of Tesla, BMW, GM and other global auto giants. Led by Tesla, cylindrical full-tab batteries are expected to be used in the field of power batteries this year.

● The second is the field of energy storage. Based on its comprehensive advantages in high-speed manufacturing, production line investment, product flexibility, consistency, safety, and product cost, cylindrical full-tab batteries are regarded as the optimal solution for the future home energy storage market.

● The third is small power tool batteries and consumer batteries. It is reported that at present, an international power tool giant company has clearly proposed to change the 18 and 21 series cylindrical batteries to the full tab process route. Even e-cigarette batteries are exploring the direction of full tab technology.

From the perspective of the supply side, the technical route of cylindrical full tabs has also been recognized by mainstream lithium ion battery company, including power and energy storage battery companies, and they have actively deployed around the manufacture and mass production of cylindrical full tab batteries.

It should be pointed out that at present, the mass production difficulties and technical barriers of cylindrical full-tab batteries are mainly stuck in the middle assembly of batteries. Due to the subversive changes in the production process and production equipment of the full-tab process, the technical difficulty has increased significantly.

In other words, the technical trend and market demand of cylindrical full-tab batteries have been clarified, and the assembly line of cylindrical full-tab batteries is expected to become a new growth pole in the lithium battery equipment market. The value of equipment companies that can solve the difficulties in the assembly of cylindrical full-tab batteries and enable mass production of terminals will also be further highlighted.

Some companies seize the opportunity of cylindrical full-tab

In 2020, Tesla launched the technical route of cylindrical electrodeless tabs (also known as full tabs), which enabled the design of cylindrical batteries to break the paradox of larger cell size and reduced heat generation, and effectively solved key bottlenecks in power performance and safety issues. As a result, cylindrical full-tab batteries have received keen attention from the entire industry.

Mutual Win Technology, which has been rooted in the field of cylindrical assembly lines before, is also keenly aware that full tab technology will surely become a new round of technological trends for cylindrical batteries.

Through endogenous technical strength, continuous innovation and breakthroughs, and epitaxial joint head battery companies to explore and develop new processes, the company took the lead in completing the equipment development product process verification and batch delivery of equipment for key processes in the assembly section in China.

Up to now, the company has provided multiple sets of cylindrical full tab assembly lines to many battery companies in the industry. The trend of cylindrical full tabs has gradually spread in many application fields, and the market demand for cylindrical full tab batteries is rising. The cylindrical full tab assembly line will also become a growth point for Mutual Win Technology’s continued profitability in the future.

It is true that the cylindrical full-tab has become a major technological outlet for industry changes. Mutual Win Technology has been focusing on the independent R&D and production of cylindrical cell assembly lines for more than ten years. The reason why it was able to seize the bonus period of full-terminalization of cylindrical batteries also benefited from its continuous cultivation in the field of cylindrical assembly lines.

Sodium battery cylindrical full-tab battery assembly line will meet development

At present, the demand for photovoltaic + energy storage installed capacity is rising globally, and it has become a broad consensus in the industry to explore new and more competitive battery systems in the future. Among them, sodium-ion batteries have a great cost advantage, and are regarded as the next-stage technical route with bright prospects and applications, and are currently in a stage of rapid development.

It is predicted that by 2023, the global demand for sodium battery production capacity will exceed 10GWh. By 2025, two-wheeled electric vehicles, low-speed electric vehicles, forklifts, energy storage and a small number of A00-class passenger vehicles will be the first subdivision battlefields for sodium batteries, with a total market space of about 30GWh and 20 billion RMB.

Industry professionals pointed out that the use of cylindrical full tab technology can more effectively solve the volume expansion problem of sodium batteries, forming the advantages of high safety and low impedance. At the same time, the battery production process of sodium batteries is similar to that of lithium batteries.

Through technological transformation, the lithium battery cylindrical full-tab production line can be applied to the production of sodium batteries, assisting it to reduce investment in production line equipment and further reduce production costs.

From an industry perspective, in December 2022, EVE will release sodium-ion large cylindrical battery products. Based on a layered oxide cathode and a hard carbon anode, a large cylindrical full-tab sodium-ion battery is designed with a C40 aluminum shell as a carrier. Its specific energy can reach 135Wh/Kg, the capacity retention rate at 10C is as high as 90%, and it can still work normally at -40°C, and the capacity retention rate is 80% after 2500 cycles.

During the same period, the leading sodium ion battery manufacturers also began mass production of cylindrical sodium-ion batteries. It is foreseeable that the expansion of lithium battery cylindrical full-tab batteries has started, and the sodium battery cylindrical full-tab batteries are ready to develop.