The "Four Little Dragons" in the United States want to give up, but Chinese companies have already rolled out products. The "ultimate battery" has sparked a frenzy in the capital market. A reporter visited the Chengdu base of a giant company on the spot and found that production is ongoing every day.

On September 5th, a reporter from Jiemian News conducted an on - the - spot investigation and found that employees of Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. were debugging a battery production line for EVE Energy Co., Ltd. in Chengdu. Despite the heavy rain outside the factory, the stock prices of relevant solid - state battery stocks soared.

The unveiling ceremony of the Chengdu mass - production base of EVE Energy's Solid - State Battery Research Institute was held, and it is expected to commercialize solid - state batteries by 2027. Qingtao Energy is building a semi - solid battery production line in Chengdu.

The mass production of solid - state batteries in the United States and Japan has encountered obstacles, while China is accelerating its layout. Enterprises such as CATL are aiming to achieve small - batch production or vehicle installation by 2027.

On the morning of September 5th in Longquanyi District, Chengdu, employees of Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. were debugging the equipment of the battery production line for Chengdu EVE Energy Co., Ltd.

It was a situation of "sunshine on one side and rain on the other". Despite the heavy downpour outside the factory, the stock prices of leading solid - state battery stocks represented by Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. and EVE Energy Co., Ltd. all soared. One stock rose by 81.82% in a short period, approaching a market value of 100 billion yuan, and the other rose by nearly 40%, with its market value exceeding 150 billion yuan.

The stock price trend of EVE Energy Co., Ltd. Image source: Wind

The positive performance of leading stocks in the solid - state battery sector is driven by the hope of mass - producing all - solid - state batteries in China, just in time for the "sunrise". The "heat" of all - solid - state batteries cannot hide the technical difficulties - the "solid - solid interface" bonding and the complex preparation process of lithium sulfide are problems that plague the global lithium - battery industry. The progress of the "Four Little Dragons" in the US solid - state battery field is slow, and Japan has postponed its mass - production time. China's solid - state battery mass - production schedule is set for 2027. How far is it from true commercialization?

Production Line Scene: Equipment Suppliers on - site for Debugging, Is the Prelude to Large - scale Implementation Underway?

According to the news released by EVE Energy's official WeChat account on September 2nd, the Chengdu mass - production base of the Solid - State Battery Research Institute was unveiled, and the "Longquan No. 2" all - solid - state battery rolled off the production line. Liu Jincheng, the chairman of EVE Energy, attended the ceremony. It is reported that after the full operation of the base, the annual production capacity will be nearly 500,000 battery cells. The base will be constructed in two phases. The first phase will be completed in December 2025, with the ability to manufacture 60Ah batteries; the second phase plans to deliver an annual production capacity of 100MWh in December 2026. The "Longquan No. 2" battery that rolled off the production line this time is a 10Ah all - solid - state battery with an energy density of up to 300Wh/kg and a volumetric energy density of 700Wh/L, mainly targeting high - end equipment application fields such as humanoid robots, low - altitude aircraft, and AI (Artificial Intelligence). Liu Jincheng mentioned that when facing multiple battery technology routes, rational judgment should be maintained, and after fully verifying the technical feasibility, the large - scale implementation of the industry should be promoted.

The news of the roll - off of EVE Energy's all - solid - state battery has detonated the capital market. The "big player" with a market value of over 100 billion yuan has risen by nearly 40% since September 2nd. What kind of solid - state battery has triggered such a frenzy in the capital market?

Satellite real - view map of the factory area of Chengdu EVE Energy Co., Ltd. Image source: Screenshot of Gaode Map

On September 5th, a reporter from Jiemian News visited Chengdu EVE Energy Co., Ltd., which is located on Huanbai Avenue, adjacent to the Chengdu base of another leading lithium - battery enterprise, CALB. The reporter confirmed on - site that the Chengdu mass - production base of the Solid - State Battery Research Institute mentioned in the official WeChat account is inside Chengdu EVE Energy Co., Ltd. The company has an east gate and a west gate, and there are a parking lot, an employee living area, and a production area inside. According to the reporter's observation, there is an under - construction road outside the fence of the solid - state battery production line that cannot be passed through. The east gate of Chengdu EVE Energy Co., Ltd. is the company's human resources center, with more people flowing in and out than the west gate. At 11:30, the mealtime, the supplier employees of Chengdu EVE Energy Co., Ltd. usually come out from the east gate to have meals. There are mobile vendors selling noodles, fried rice, etc. on the road in front of the east gate. The reporter from Jiemian News met several supplier employees of the company, and some were wearing work uniforms with the logo of "Lead". After confirmation, these employees wearing "Lead" work uniforms are from Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., a hot stock in the solid - state battery equipment field, whose stock price rose by 81.82% from August 29th to September 5th.

Chengdu EVE Energy Co., Ltd. Image source: Photo by Xu Shuai, a reporter from Jiemian News

The reporter talked with two employees of Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., and they both mentioned that Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. provides equipment for EVE Energy's battery production line, and they are responsible for the cleaning process. There are more than 20 people involved in the entire battery line project, including mechanical equipment. Besides Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., there is also "Han's". Han's Laser has battery process equipment and is also a supplier of EVE Energy.

"We just came from the headquarters in Wuxi a few days ago to work on the project, solve on - site equipment problems, and get it up and running." Both of the above - mentioned employees of Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. said that there is a battery production line inside Chengdu EVE Energy Co., Ltd., and batteries are produced every day. There are two types of batteries: larger cylindrical batteries and slightly smaller cylindrical batteries. One of the employees of Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. explained that the produced batteries are used in vehicles, and the batteries are connected in series. However, EVE Energy has mentioned that it has completed the development of the assembly process for small flexible - packaged all - solid - state batteries. Mo Ke, the founder of True Lithium Research, said that solid - state batteries only refer to the form of the electrolyte and have nothing to do with the form of the battery cell; whether it is cylindrical or flexible - packaged refers to the form of the battery cell.

On September 4th, the reporter called the public phone of EVE Energy, and the person on the other end said that the official WeChat account only mentioned that the all - solid - state battery product rolled off the production line, not that it has actually been mass - produced. "Having the ability to mass - produce and actually mass - producing are two different things... The one in Chengdu is a pilot production line for sulfide solid - state batteries, and there are still many steps from pilot production to mass production."

However, in the view of Liu Yanlong, the former secretary - general and senior engineer of the China Chemical and Physical Power Sources Industry Association, an annual production capacity of 100MWh for all - solid - state batteries is already a significant breakthrough in China's solid - state battery industry, although the cost, price, and technical stability still need to be verified.

In Chengdu, besides EVE Energy, another giant in the solid - state battery field, Qingtao Energy, has just made a major investment. In November last year, the project of Qingtao's Southwest Industrial Base for Solid - State Batteries was launched. The project plans a total investment of 10 billion yuan and will build the first semi - solid battery production line in Chengdu, with an annual production capacity of 15GWh. It is the "largest - scale solid - state battery industrialization project put into operation so far". In May this year, the official website of the Chengdu Natural Resources Bureau announced the "Pre - publicity of the General Plan of the Construction Engineering Design Scheme for the Project of Qingtao's Southwest Industrial Base for Solid - State Batteries of Chengdu Qingtao New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.", which also means that the construction of the project has been further accelerated.

On September 5th, the reporter came to Mituo Village, Pixian District, Chengdu, and finally found the Southwest Industrial Base for Solid - State Batteries of Qingtao, which is the second - phase project of Qingtao in Chengdu and mainly produces solid - state battery cells and systems. According to the project construction plan, the construction started in 2025 and will be fully completed and put into operation in 2028. The new annual output value of 15GWh will exceed 10 billion yuan.

The Southwest Industrial Base for Solid - State Batteries of Qingtao. Image source: Photo by Xu Shuai, a reporter from Jiemian News

However, the site is still a wasteland, and some on - site workers are building three prefabricated houses with the words "Technical Department" written on them. The above - mentioned on - site workers told the reporter that the project is under construction and is currently in the enclosure stage.

International Comparison: Mass Production in the US and Japan Encountered Obstacles, China is Accelerating its Layout

"Although Chengdu lagged behind in the previous wave of power - battery layout, it is expected to overtake on a curve in the field of solid - state batteries with the help of EVE Energy and Qingtao Energy's Southwest Industrial Base," Zhu Keli, the founding dean of the Guoyan New Economy Research Institute, told a reporter from Jiemian News.

Why has the non - existent mass - produced solid - state battery production line triggered the "excitement" of the lithium - battery industry, the capital market, and regional economic observers?

Because this technology, known as the "ultimate battery", is at a critical node of industrialization, although it is also a well - recognized new technical challenge in the global lithium - battery industry.

The four most advanced solid - state battery companies in the United States, known as the "Four Little Dragons", cannot give a mass - production schedule and even want to give up.

In July this year, the US solid - state battery company QuantumScape announced in an SEC (US Securities and Exchange Commission) filing that it would terminate the self - manufacturing of solid - state batteries and instead license its technology to Volkswagen's PowerCo. US stock market investors "voted with their feet" on QuantumScape's stock price. From July 18th to September 3rd, the company's stock price fell by 42.79%.

Solid Power is not very interested in manufacturing solid - state batteries and only wants to solve the material properties of electrolytes, that is, the four major systems - polymers, oxides, halides, and sulfides.

Factorial Energy, supported by the automobile company Mercedes - Benz, has verified the newly developed automotive - sized solid - state battery FEST. However, verification is just the beginning, and the feasibility of commercial - scale mass production still needs to be verified through actual driving.

As for SES AI, its R & D platform of "AI for Science" is not "infatuated" with solid - state batteries and still has actions in the development of liquid lithium - ion batteries.

In Japan, the mass - production time has been postponed again and again, from 2025 to 2030, even though the automotive giant Toyota holds thousands of solid - state battery patents.

As early as 1976, China began to explore solid - state lithium - battery technology. The Chinese Academy of Sciences listed it as a key project in several Five - Year Plans. The "863 Program" launched in 1987 also listed solid - state lithium - battery technology as a key project. In 1976, a young visiting scholar in Germany wrote a letter to his leader, applying to study solid - state batteries. This young visiting scholar later returned to China and became the general person - in - charge of the "7th Five - Year Plan" energy - storage materials (polymer lithium - ion battery) project of the "863 Program". He is Chen Liquan, a well - known academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a researcher at the Institute of Physics, who founded Beijing Weilan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Weilan New Energy"), in which the lithium - mine giant Tianqi Lithium also has a stake.

On September 4th, Yu Huigen, the chairman of Weilan New Energy, told a reporter from Jiemian News on WeChat: "All - solid - state batteries are not that easy." On September 1st last year, Yu Huigen mentioned in a conversation that he was fully confident that Weilan New Energy could mass - produce solid - state batteries. One year later, he still remains cautious: "There is no plan to advance mass - production at present."

Huang Xuejie, a researcher and doctoral supervisor at the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and one of Chen Liquan's students, told the reporter on the phone that the production of all - solid - state batteries is very difficult, and currently, the country is organizing technical research. "Each of the several routes for all - solid - state batteries has its own difficulties, and it's hard to put it into a few words... Even Japan has not clearly understood these difficulties, so it has postponed (commercialization) again and again." Although the stability of the chemical materials of all - solid - state batteries has been greatly improved, the interface is still a major problem - "How exactly should the battery be made? What kind of form should it take?" These questions have not been fully determined yet.

The challenge faced by the interface of all - solid - state batteries is the well - recognized "solid - solid interface" bonding problem in the industry - when the solid electrolyte is in contact with the solid electrolyte, all lithium ions migrate on the solid - electrolyte membrane, but there is no absolutely smooth plane in the real world.

For example, in a liquid battery, the space between the positive and negative electrodes is in a "watery" state, and the lithium ions of the positive and negative electrodes are fully combined, resulting in high conductivity.

In a solid - state battery, the "watery" state is replaced by a hard "biscuit". External force is needed to press the two "biscuits" of the positive and negative electrodes tightly together. If they are not pressed tightly, there will be gaps, and the resistance will soar; if they are pressed too tightly, "crumbs" (lithium dendrites) will be squeezed out of the "biscuit", causing a short - circuit.

Huang Xuejie said that the external atmospheric pressure is very important, and the pressure in the laboratory is many times different from the real environment of a car. Liu Yanlong said that the difficulty lies in how to maintain the stability of high pressure in the real environment.