People who make batteries don't buy the products they develop.
Text | Han Yongchang Editor | Zhang Bowen
As a leading media outlet for industry reporting, we haven't covered product reports much in the past. However, product reports are the most helpful texts for consumers when choosing and purchasing cars, as well as for car - makers when manufacturing and selling cars.
Therefore, we've decided to reshape the product observation column, dividing it into two different types: MAX and PRO.
Product MAX invites professionals from car - making and supply - chain enterprises to share the key points they focus on when choosing and buying cars, providing effective advice for consumers.
Product PRO invites senior car owners who have purchased multiple new energy vehicles successively to provide real opinions on specific brands and market segments.
This is the first issue of the column. We've invited a professional with about 10 years of experience in power battery R & D. He has witnessed the entire rise of China's new energy vehicle industry, worked in both car - making and battery enterprises, and personally developed multiple battery packs.
He shared some experiences on how to choose batteries and electric vehicles, as well as how to maintain batteries in daily life. However, he still drives a fuel - powered car, and most of his colleagues also drive fuel - powered cars. Let's see what he has to say.
36Kr: When you go to look at cars, do you pay special attention to which company the battery is from?
Engineer: If it's a ternary battery, I'll pay special attention. From our own R & D perspective, the safety of the ternary system isn't particularly good. Most manufacturers in the industry that produce ternary batteries have had cases of spontaneous combustion in the past. So if it's a ternary battery, I'll definitely choose a brand that is relatively safer and has better quality control, such as CATL.
But if I'm choosing a car, I'll most likely directly choose one with a lithium iron phosphate battery. Because this material itself has good safety. No matter which manufacturer makes the lithium iron phosphate battery, there won't be much difference, at least not much difference in terms of safety.
36Kr: If you have to choose a ternary battery, would you be willing to pay a premium for the CATL battery brand?
Engineer: For a car priced over 200,000 yuan, it's okay to spend a few thousand more. There's no big problem.
36Kr: Do you recommend buying cars with over 4C ultra - fast charging?
Engineer: For me personally, I think 2C is enough. It takes just over 20 minutes to charge from 10% to 80%, which is completely acceptable. I don't need ultra - fast charging over 4C. Because I think most of the time, the car won't use this fast - charging function, and there's no need to pay a premium for it.
From the perspective of the battery itself, the storage life of a slow - charging battery is better, while that of a fast - charging battery is relatively poor. If it's a commercial vehicle, it doesn't matter to buy a fast - charging one. Because the battery degradation is calculated according to mileage rather than storage time.
For personal household use, if it's not used frequently, there's actually no need to buy a fast - charging car. 2C is sufficient. One reason is that there's no need to pay a higher premium for fast - charging, and the other is that fast - charging will also reduce the battery life.
36Kr: Would you buy the products made by your own company?
Engineer: Actually, there's a phenomenon in the battery industry. Everyone buys cars that don't use their own company's batteries. In the current environment, cost reduction is required. When you're in your own company, you can see some cost - cutting measures, which may affect the performance of the battery in the car.
You don't see other companies doing the same, so you buy cars from other companies. But actually, other companies may also be doing it. You just don't see it and think they aren't.
36Kr: It's just for psychological comfort.
Engineer: Yes, because if you don't see it, it's okay. But if you do, you'll have to think about it.
Let me give you an example. Generally, a heat - insulating pad is placed between battery cells. At first, battery factories would paste a heat - insulating pad on one entire side of the battery cell. But in the past two years, due to cost - reduction requirements, it has gradually changed from pasting a large surface to pasting a square - shaped frame with an empty middle to reduce some costs. Later, it became a square shape, and then only two vertical bars were left. This thing doesn't cost much, but even this has been cut down like this.
36Kr: Aren't you afraid of fire?
Engineer: We make lithium iron phosphate batteries, which are very difficult to catch fire. And everyone is doing the same. We aren't the first to do this. We were forced to do so. I won't buy products from my own company. I'll only buy from other companies. Actually, what I buy is the same. However, lithium iron phosphate batteries are really safe and won't cause any problems. This is the same as what I said at the beginning. I'll only choose cars with lithium iron phosphate batteries.
36Kr: Which cars do you recommend buying?
Engineer: It's very simple. Just buy cars with large sales volumes. For example, buy cars that use CATL batteries or directly buy BYD cars. It's also better to buy global models because they need to be sold all over the world, so the quality control should be better.
36Kr: Would you consider some popular models?
Engineer: I'm not very willing to consider them myself. Although their cockpits are excellent and their intelligent driving systems are said to be good, they've been in the car - making business for too short a time. I'll definitely buy cars with large sales volumes and more experience in car - making.
36Kr: Indeed, in the automotive industry, you learn through experience. You don't know where the problems are until you encounter them.
Engineer: Yes. Another point is that you get what you pay for. You may see that some new - force car brands offer cars at very low prices with high - end configurations. But they must have cut corners in some places you can't see. They haven't been verified as thoroughly as traditional car - makers during the development process. In the end, it's all about the principle of getting what you pay for.
For example, the entry - level versions of many new cars only come with tire - pressure alarms and no tire - pressure displays. My fuel - powered car, which I bought in 2016 and doesn't even have a large screen, has a tire - pressure display. How much can this thing cost? They've cut it out to reduce costs.
36Kr: What car do you drive now?
Engineer: A Buick. I've been driving this car for 9 years, and it has never had a major overhaul. There was only one time when an axle needed to be reinforced, which was like a recall. The 4S store reinforced it for free. Other than that, it has hardly been repaired.
36Kr: You work in the battery industry. Haven't you thought about changing to an electric car?
Engineer: This car meets my needs completely, and it won't break down. There's no need to change. Many current electric cars have a lot of electronic components, which are more likely to cause problems. Sometimes I think it would be better to have fewer electronic components. For example, I think the physical buttons for the air - conditioner and hazard lights should be retained. If you have to find them on the screen or use voice control when you need them, there are still many risks.
36Kr: Many BYD models still retain physical buttons.
Engineer: Yes, I think BYD has conducted thorough research. But many car - makers with average sales volumes seem not to have done any research. They just imitate the successful models.
36Kr: Do many of your colleagues buy BYD cars?
Engineer: Yes, among electric cars, BYD cars are the most popular. There are Song PLUS, Han DMI, Seal 06, and Yuan PLUS. The quality of BYD cars is actually quite good. Otherwise, so many people wouldn't buy them.
BYD also has an advantage. Now that car prices are so low and everyone is reducing costs, at first, people in the industry thought that the quality of BYD cars was just average. But in the past two years, as costs have been continuously reduced, BYD has achieved cost - reduction through vertical integration and large - scale production, which is a healthy way.
Some car - makers just cut costs directly and save on various small details, which will ultimately affect safety. So, in contrast, BYD cars have become cars with very good quality.
36Kr: Do many of your colleagues drive electric cars?
Engineer: Most of them still drive fuel - powered cars. Since we work in the battery industry, we still have many concerns.
36Kr: Now that batteries are getting cheaper and cheaper, can the products after cost - reduction really guarantee 8 years of use?
Engineer: From the perspective of battery cycles, it's no problem to use them for 5 - 8 years. Currently, lithium iron phosphate batteries can achieve over 3000 cycles at 2C, and 1500 - 2000 cycles at 4C.
For ordinary users, they don't cycle the battery many times a year. For example, for a car with a 500 - kilometer range using a lithium iron phosphate battery, if it runs 20,000 kilometers a year, it only corresponds to 40 cycles. So, running for 8 years would only be 320 cycles. Even if the battery has some degradation during use, let's say at most 500 cycles in 8 years, normal batteries can achieve this.
36Kr: How should we charge and discharge the battery to extend its life?
Engineer: Avoid storing the battery at high temperatures and high SOC. For example, in summer when the external temperature is 40 degrees and the battery is fully charged and left unused, this has the greatest impact on the battery life. During normal use, leave some margin. For example, it's best to keep the battery level between 10% and 90%.
Especially when using fast - charging, the battery temperature will rise after fast - charging. If you drive the car directly after a full charge, the SOC will decrease, which has a relatively small impact on the battery. Never leave the battery fully charged after fast - charging, especially when the external temperature is high. This is very bad for the battery life.
36Kr: The recent new national standard requires that batteries should not catch fire or explode. Can you interpret this for us?
Engineer: From the perspective of regulatory requirements, it's indeed the strictest. However, the national standard is still the minimum standard. Basically, cars using lithium iron phosphate batteries can pass it. Most cars using medium - nickel high - voltage ternary batteries can also pass it, and so can cars using high - nickel silicon - doped cylindrical batteries.
Currently, the only type of batteries that have difficulty passing the new national standard are large - capacity square aluminum - shell batteries using high - nickel, especially silicon - doped ones. The installation volume of this type of battery in China is very, very small. Because in the past two years, everyone has switched to fast - charging and doesn't use high - nickel batteries much anymore. They use medium - nickel high - voltage or lithium iron phosphate batteries instead.
36Kr: So, although the new national standard is stricter, it still can't guarantee that the batteries won't catch fire or explode?
Engineer: Yes, the new national standard is indeed stricter, but it's a mandatory standard, which means that at least it must be met. Otherwise, the products can't be sold in China. So it's still the bottom line, and generally, car - makers will have higher requirements.
Moreover, the national standard tests are conducted under specific conditions and can't represent all driving conditions of cars. You can see that some companies show that their battery packs won't catch fire even after being shot or cut by a chainsaw. These are also safety performances under specific conditions.
Just because they can pass these tests doesn't mean that the battery packs can withstand high - speed collisions with concrete columns or impacts from a flipped manhole cover. The tests are conducted at low speeds. When we drive at high speeds in daily life, we still need to be cautious. Accidents and collisions may cause the battery to smoke or catch fire. It doesn't mean that with the new national standard, there will definitely be no fires.
The above is the entire content of this issue. If you're also in the automotive industry or a senior user of new energy vehicles and have a lot to say, please scan the QR code at the end of the article to contact the author.
