As solid-state batteries enter their first year of mass production, will they be the antidote for high-end electric vehicles?

The high - end pure - electric vehicle market is experiencing a fierce battle.

On May 27th, the Wenjie M9 and the NIO ES9 were launched one after another.

The pure - electric version of the Wenjie M9 is equipped with a 120 - kWh Huawei Whale battery. The intention is to alleviate the biggest pain point of pure - electric vehicles, range anxiety, through a large - capacity battery. The official claims that the CLTC range of the pure - electric version of the Wenjie M9 can reach up to 750 km. The NIO ES9 has a battery capacity of 102 kWh, but it can achieve a 3 - minute energy replenishment relying on NIO's battery - swapping system.

On May 19th, the Zeekr 009, a high - end pure - electric MPV, was launched with a starting price of 439,800 yuan. It is equipped with a 900V high - voltage platform and 6C fast charging. In the second half of the year, the Li Auto i9 will also be launched, and ultra - fast charging will still be one of the core selling points of Li Auto's pure - electric vehicles.

Leading automakers are successively making efforts in the high - end pure - electric vehicle market at the 400,000 - yuan level. Their product strategies still focus on increasing battery capacity and improving charging rates. However, at the same time, the cost of explaining battery safety has also increased.

Except for NIO, which is labeled with battery - swapping, other automakers seem to have not found a new way to break the deadlock in the high - end pure - electric vehicle market.

This has made some battery manufacturers see the application prospects of solid - liquid batteries. In 2026, the automotive industry regards it as the first year for the mass production and installation of solid - liquid batteries. Yang Hongxin, the CEO of SVOLT Energy Technology, predicts that solid - liquid batteries will be first applied in the low - altitude economy and high - end passenger cars.

The product definitions of many pure - electric vehicle models this year reflect this trend to a certain extent.

36Kr learned that high - end models under Zeekr are evaluating the installation of CATL's condensed - state batteries; Guoxuan High - tech's solid - liquid batteries will soon be mass - produced in Chery models; SVOLT Energy Technology is also actively promoting the mass installation of solid - liquid batteries. A person in the industry told 36Kr that SVOLT Energy Technology plans to install 30,000 - 40,000 solid - liquid batteries in Great Wall models this year.

In today's relatively mature battery industry, the mass production of solid - liquid batteries in high - end vehicles may be an important variable in the industry.

High - end vehicles need safer ternary batteries

"For electric vehicles priced above 250,000 yuan, choosing lithium iron phosphate batteries is a disguised form of cost - cutting." At CATL's Super Technology Day in April this year, Gao Huan, the CTO of CATL, put forward such a view.

To some extent, this statement reflects an industry consensus - high - end pure - electric vehicles have higher requirements for range, that is, the energy density of power batteries. Therefore, ternary batteries with a higher energy density per watt - hour are called "the optimal solution for high - end long - range vehicles" by CATL.

However, the disadvantages of ternary batteries compared with lithium iron phosphate batteries are also obvious. The chemical properties of ternary materials are unstable, so the probability of accidents in ternary batteries is higher.

For this reason, Yang Hongxin affirmed the value of ternary batteries to 36Kr, saying that "not all vehicles can accommodate so many lithium iron phosphate batteries", and at the same time, he also said that "the safety issue of ternary batteries must be solved this year".

Compared with hybrid vehicles, range, energy replenishment, and safety have once been the constraints on the sales of high - end pure - electric vehicles. The most typical example is the Li Auto MEGA, a pure - electric MPV that Li Auto has high hopes for. It is equipped with CATL's Qilin battery and features a 5C ultra - fast charging at its debut. However, due to a 10 - second explosion accident, its sales declined sharply.

The means used by battery manufacturers to solve the safety problem of ternary batteries is what Yang Hongxin calls "solid - liquid mixing", which is commonly known as "semi - solid" in the industry.

In April this year, CATL launched a solid - liquid battery, the Qilin Condensed - State Battery. Its cathode uses a high - nickel ternary system, paired with a graphite - silicon - doped anode.

According to CATL's official information, the energy density of the Qilin Condensed - State Battery is 350 Wh/kg, which is the product with the highest energy density among currently mass - produced batteries. A sedan equipped with the Qilin Condensed - State Battery can have a range of up to 1,500 kilometers, and a full - size six - seat SUV can have a range of over 1,000 kilometers.

CATL is quite confident about the safety of this battery, claiming that it uses a condensed - state electrolyte, which can achieve "no liquid to leak and no liquid to burn". However, CATL did not mention much about the energy - replenishment efficiency, that is, the charging rate of the battery, which is also a concern for pure - electric vehicle users.

In May this year, SVOLT Energy Technology announced that it will mass - produce hybrid solid - liquid batteries in September this year, saying that "the cost can be on par with that of liquid batteries, and at the same time, safety will also be improved". The solid - liquid battery to be mass - produced by SVOLT Energy Technology uses a medium - nickel ternary system, and the energy density announced by the enterprise is 245 Wh/kg. Moreover, according to SVOLT Energy Technology, the peak charging rate of its solid - liquid battery is 6C.

Battery manufacturers are making efforts in solid - liquid batteries, aiming to balance the energy density and safety of ternary batteries through process improvement. High - end pure - electric vehicles seem to have finally found a solution to the pain points of range and safety. However, in today's situation where solid - liquid battery technology is not yet mature, products from different battery manufacturers have their own advantages and pain points. Whether solid - liquid batteries can ultimately promote the maturity of the high - end pure - electric vehicle industry chain still seems to be an unknown.

Condensed - state: facing the trade - off between energy density and charging efficiency

Currently, the common technical routes of solid - liquid batteries in the industry can be roughly divided into the following categories. One is the condensed - state electrolyte route adopted by CATL.

The industry generally believes that this technical route means that after injecting electrolyte into the battery, through an in - situ solidification process, the original electrolyte is solidified into a jelly - like state, thereby achieving what CATL calls "no liquid to burn and no liquid to leak".

An industry insider analyzed to 36Kr that "no liquid to burn" can indeed be achieved in theory. The three conditions for combustion are ignition point, combustibles, and oxygen. The reason why it is difficult for liquid ternary batteries to balance safety is that, on the one hand, the ignition point of liquid high - nickel ternary batteries is low, and they will catch fire when the temperature reaches about 130 degrees Celsius. In addition, high - nickel ternary materials are chemically active and easily release oxygen. Therefore, even without a collision, when the heat in the battery pack accumulates to the decomposition ignition point, the battery will catch fire.

In the condensed - state high - nickel ternary battery, "the electrolyte content is greatly reduced, which means that the combustibles are reduced. The ignition point of the battery is also raised, so it is safer than the liquid high - nickel ternary battery. The ignition point of all - solid - state batteries is even higher, possibly reaching 1,000 degrees Celsius, which is even safer."

However, the defects of the condensed - state electrolyte are also obvious. Yang Hongxin believes that "we cannot talk about 'no liquid to leak' without considering performance." An industry insider estimates that the charging rate of condensed - state batteries "tops out at 2C".

"The fluidity of the condensed - state electrolyte is weaker than that of the electrolyte, and the migration speed of lithium ions in it will definitely slow down. Battery manufacturers may improve the charging rate of condensed - state batteries through material improvement and other methods, but the improvement is estimated to be limited."

Therefore, Yang Hongxin pointed out that "the paradox in the battery industry appears here. The most high - end pure - electric vehicles cannot be fast - charged", and "cheap pure - electric vehicles do not need condensed - state batteries. Just use lithium iron phosphate. Lithium iron phosphate is safer than the condensed - state of ternary batteries."

However, some battery industry insiders put forward another view to 36Kr: "Condensed - state batteries do not need ultra - fast charging because the charging frequency is reduced. Moreover, if they are used in high - end vehicles, high - end vehicles are generally charged by drivers, and car - buying decision - makers will not have a very obvious perception of the charging rate."

The limitation of the charging rate on the large - scale application of condensed - state batteries may still be open to discussion. The problem of process consistency is a greater challenge that condensed - state batteries need to overcome. Yang Hongxin admitted that SVOLT Energy Technology also tried condensed - state batteries, "but later gave up. It is difficult to control the consistency, and I think it is very difficult to solve this problem." In addition to SVOLT Energy Technology, 36Kr learned that Sunwoda is also researching condensed - state batteries, but currently, some people from Sunwoda think that this technology still needs to mature.

Coating solid electrolyte: has cost advantages, but the improvement in safety is limited

In addition to the condensed - state route, the electrode - sheet coating route adopted by Qingtao Energy and the thermal - composite transfer route adopted by SVOLT Energy Technology are two other technical routes for solid - liquid batteries.

The principles of these two technical routes are somewhat similar. Qingtao Energy coats the solid electrolyte on the positive electrode sheet. After SVOLT Energy Technology coats the solid electrolyte on the separator, it transfers the solid electrolyte to the positive electrode through thermal - composite technology.

Compared with CATL and Qingtao Energy, one of the advantages of SVOLT Energy Technology's technical route is that it makes the most of the existing production lines, thereby reducing production costs.

Yang Hongxin told 36Kr that the cost increase of the condensed - state route is the largest. "The pre - charging and formation processes of the condensed - state battery require significant changes to the equipment. For example, gas needs to be exhausted during the formation process." In addition, 36Kr learned that Qingtao Energy needs to construct a solid electrolyte on the positive electrode. "Adopting a coating or transfer process scheme requires new processes and equipment investment, and the production cost will increase to a certain extent."

For the transfer technology used in SVOLT Energy Technology's solid - liquid battery, "the cost does not increase", and "the cost of coating may increase by a few percentage points, which is not particularly much". Therefore, according to Yang Hongxin, the price quoted by SVOLT Energy Technology for its solid - liquid battery to automakers is the same as that of liquid batteries.

36Kr learned that coating the solid electrolyte on the separator, "such as coating ceramic, which is an oxide, has been done in the industry for a long time". A battery industry insider told 36Kr that for this process, "the coating thickness is relatively thin, and the amount used is actually very small. Compared with the cost of the positive electrode, the cost of the coating material is really negligible." He estimated that the material cost will increase by at most 1 - 2 percentage points.

However, while this technical route has cost advantages, some engineers have expressed doubts about its safety. A battery engineer from a leading enterprise said that there are many dimensions for evaluating battery safety, such as impact, acupuncture, and hot - box tests.

According to the test data of his enterprise, the effect of the thermal - composite transfer technology is mainly reflected in improving the thermal stability of the battery cell. In the hot - box test, "for example, at a temperature of over 130 degrees Celsius, the battery cell could originally last for half an hour without thermal runaway. After coating the solid electrolyte on the separator, the thermal - runaway temperature of the battery cell will increase by a few degrees Celsius, or it can last longer at the same temperature." However, he expressed doubts about whether the solid - liquid battery under this technical route can pass the acupuncture test.

In 2026, the solid - liquid battery has entered the first year of mass production and installation, targeting core pain points such as safety, range, and energy - replenishment advantages. However, it still needs technological iteration and industrial precipitation to reach maturity. Before that, battery - swapping may still be a better solution for high - end pure - electric vehicles.