Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 516: Promise of the Times and Abandonment
“A brand new energy era: solid-state batteries are coming!”

"Xu Shenxue announces the beginning of the era of solid-state batteries!"

"Deeply explore the past and present of solid-state batteries, why the Poseidon battery system shocked the world!"

Xu Shenxue's previous press conference has not yet ended, and many news reports about solid-state batteries have appeared on the Internet.

The press conference hosted by Xu Shenxue himself was of a very high standard, and a large number of news media were watching closely. Those who were able to obtain invitations to attend the event had already gone, but many ordinary foreign media and domestic small and medium-sized media, especially various self-media, were unable to obtain invitations to attend the event.

So they are all watching the live broadcast.

Zhiyun Group has always attached great importance to the live broadcast of press conferences, believing that it is a very important publicity window. It directly opens up the license for free, allowing anyone to broadcast it, and provides very high-quality live broadcast signals.

The official accounts of Zhiyun, a subsidiary of Yihai Technology's Jumping Video, and Hailan Automobile directly broadcast the entire process live.

What’s even more interesting is that Zhiyun Group also provides simultaneous interpretation in more than ten mainstream languages ​​around the world.

Just by looking at the simultaneous interpretation in more than ten languages ​​at this press conference, you can tell the size of Zhiyun Group... There are very few companies that hold a press conference with simultaneous interpretation in more than ten languages ​​and broadcast the press conference live to major language groups around the world!

Of course, for most companies, even multinational companies, this is useless because no one will read it...

But Xu Shenxue is different, and his Zhiyun Group and Hailan Automobile are also different!
Both companies are multinational corporations targeting the global market, especially Zhiyun Group.

They have enough influence to attract a large audience to pay attention to the news of new products!

When many domestic media began to report the press conference simultaneously, many foreign media also reported it simultaneously.

Even though it is late at night in many countries, many people are still paying attention to this press conference!

After all, before the press conference, people already knew that Xu Shenxue would release solid-state batteries at this press conference, so people in the battery and automotive industries around the world were particularly concerned.

As the press conference progressed, after Xu Shenxue introduced the Poseidon solid-state battery system, a wave of discussion was set off both at home and abroad.

On a Chinese website, it didn’t take long for a discussion post to top the list: What do you think of the solid-state battery jointly released by Zhiyun and Hailan? How much impact will it bring?
At almost the same time, similar posts on similar question-and-answer websites abroad instantly topped the list.

Among these questions, in addition to a large number of joke tellers and people who just wanted to join in the fun and answer them, and came up with a lot of meaningless answers, there were also some professionals who answered them.

On a foreign question-and-answer website, a PhD in materials science from Cambridge University answered the question. This person is also engaged in research in the field of lithium batteries, and his answer was full of various puzzles!
"There is no doubt that if the Poseidon battery system that Xu Shenxue mentioned at the press conference is true, then this is equivalent to opening up a new battery research and development technology route!"

"Oxidized polymer solid-state batteries are a technology route that has never appeared before. Before this, people only studied three types of solid-state battery technology routes: sulfide, oxide, and polymer!"

"And now, a fourth technology route has emerged, and it is so mature that it has even reached the point where it can be used commercially!"

"I don't know how they did it, and there are no relevant papers released yet. We don't know the details of this technical route yet, but what I do know is that starting tomorrow, the global research landscape in the battery field will be completely overturned!"

On domestic question-and-answer websites, some people have also analyzed the Poseidon solid-state battery system in detail, but they pay more attention to its impact.

"With an energy density of 700 watt-hours per kilogram, there is theoretically no risk of fire or combustion, and the cycle life can even reach 3,000 times. Putting these performance indicators together will have an enormous impact on the development of other types of solid-state batteries, as well as existing semi-solid batteries and liquid lithium batteries!"

"I can already foresee that starting today, the stock prices of battery-related companies around the world will plummet!"

"Many people may not understand what 700 watt-hours per kilogram means. It means a multiple increase in battery life!"

"In the field of electric vehicles, the current mainstream batteries are lithium iron phosphate batteries, ternary lithium batteries and semi-solid batteries. Among them, lithium iron phosphate batteries and ternary lithium batteries are currently mainly used in mid- and low-end models of major electric vehicle manufacturers. The energy density ranges from more than 100 watt-hours per kilogram to more than 200 watt-hours per kilogram. The comprehensive range of electric vehicles is generally around 400 to 500 kilometers."

"In the past two years, solid-state batteries have been used in high-end luxury models such as Hailan Automobile, and the comprehensive range can reach more than 700 kilometers."

"Starting this year, high-end models from automakers such as Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and BYD have also begun to gradually use Ningdai Battery's semi-solid-state batteries!!"

"If nothing unexpected happens, the application of semi-solid-state batteries will enter a year of explosive growth starting this year, and more and more car models will achieve a comprehensive range of 600 to 700 kilometers."

"But now, the new Hailan Battery Poseidon solid-state battery system has indeed broken this pattern. The Hailan SR3 sports car using solid-state batteries has a comprehensive range of kilometers. It is foreseeable that with the huge energy density advantage of solid-state batteries, the range of many subsequent Hailan car models will be able to reach more than kilometers!"

"The most critical thing is safety. Everyone knows the risks of lithium batteries. In recent years, electric vehicles have always caught fire due to accidents or spontaneous combustion. Even a car brand like Hailan Automobile, which has achieved the ultimate in battery safety, cannot avoid battery fire incidents!"

"Everyone should remember that last year, the Hailan MEV caught fire due to an accident, causing the death of the people in the car. This also caused people to worry about the safety of electric vehicles!"

"But now, the emergence of solid-state batteries has indeed completely changed this situation. According to Xu Shenxue's description at the press conference, the Poseidon solid-state battery system uses a solid electrolyte and metal carbon materials as the negative electrode material. The positive electrode material was not clearly stated at the press conference, but it was also mentioned that a new positive electrode material was used. The details will have to wait until the boss gets the solid-state battery and tests it to know!"

"The application of these new materials also leads to the great safety of solid-state batteries!"

"Xu Shenxue said at the press conference that their Poseidon solid-state battery theoretically has no possibility of catching fire, which is of vital importance to battery safety."

"Compared to the greatly improved energy density, this safety is obviously more important and deserves more attention!"

“Perhaps, in the near future, the battery fire incident of Hailan electric vehicles will completely become history!”

Battery fires in electric vehicles have been a major problem that has plagued the electric vehicle industry for many years. Even Hailan Automobile, the world's top electric vehicle leader that pays great attention to battery safety, is not immune to it.

in the country, news about Hailan car battery fires occasionally appears everywhere.

Not to mention overseas, every time the battery of a Hailan car catches fire, it will attract overwhelming news reports, all kinds of criticism and questioning!
This situation has only improved slightly in the last two years because of the adoption of semi-solid-state batteries, which have greatly improved battery safety and reduced the number of fire incidents.

However, batteries of other brands will still burn... This has a lot to do with the battery supplier used and the battery safety management technology of the car manufacturer itself.

And this situation will become history after solid-state batteries become widely popular in the future!

The question is, when will solid-state batteries become popular?
In particular, what is the cost and when can it be reduced?
In this regard, Xu Shenxue did not announce the cost and individual selling price of the Poseidon solid-state battery at the press conference, but only announced the prices of the Zhiyun Robot S4 and the Hailan Sports Car SR3 equipped with this battery.

The new generation of Zhiyun robot Yun Robot S4, this flagship version of the entire series will use solid-state batteries, and the starting price is still . The top-end model, that is, the high computing power, equipped with the expression motion system and silicon skin, is priced at more than !
At the same time, the battery life of all models has been doubled!
Among the top-end models of the robot, the regular usage time exceeds ten hours, and the sports mode usage time exceeds six hours!
The entire pricing system has not changed much from the previous generation.

This is because among the many costs of Zhiyun robots, the battery cost is actually only a small part... The weight of the battery used in the robot varies depending on the version, ranging from a dozen kilograms to a few dozen kilograms... Compared with the battery packs in electric vehicles that weigh hundreds of kilograms, the amount used is actually very small.

A cost increase of tens of thousands of yuan is nothing for the Zhiyun robot, which starts at 800,000 yuan and has a relatively high premium.

Therefore, although the S4 series robots use solid-state batteries, their prices remain the same as the previous generation.

However, if solid-state batteries are also used in mid- and low-end robots next year, the prices may rise. For example, the C series robots that cost more than 100,000 yuan have a relatively low gross profit margin, and the additional battery costs of tens of thousands will definitely make it impossible to maintain the original selling price.

The automotive industry is even more affected!
On the Hailan SR3 sports car... The price of this sports car is very high, and the cost is also high, but the R&D cost and production line account for the majority of the many costs... Because the sales volume is too small, the R&D and production line costs cannot be spread out.

The battery cost alone actually accounts for a very low proportion!
Therefore, the price of this year's Ocean Blue SR3 remains the same as last year!
As the flagship model of HaiLan Automobile, the HaiLan SR series has no configuration differences and only one top-of-the-line model!
It has all the necessary configurations, and is equipped with a large solid-state battery with a range of 1,400 kilometers. The price starts at 1.5 million!
The reason why it starts at one million and five hundred thousand is because there are many optional features... For example, some unique personalized wheels, body colors, rear wings, etc. can be selected, but they are all very expensive, basically tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands. If you choose a few of them, the price will be over two million.

As for supercars, the various optional features are so expensive, and the main point is not to cheat the poor!

However, if solid-state batteries are used in models such as Hailan SLMC or Hailan YEV, either the battery life will be increased and the price will increase, or the battery life will remain unchanged and the price will remain the same.

Although the gross profit margins of these high-volume models are also high, their selling prices are only more than 200,000 or 300,000 yuan, and they cannot afford the battery cost increase of 100,000 yuan at any time.

Therefore, by next year, people will be able to feel the high cost of solid-state batteries in mainstream models such as Hailan YEV, Hailan SLMC, Hailan MEV, as well as Zhiyun Group's C series robots!

However, the high cost of solid-state batteries is only temporary!

With large-scale mass production, the high manufacturing cost of solid-state batteries will gradually decrease, and eventually the cost per kilogram will be comparable to that of semi-solid-state batteries.

If the cost per kilogram is the same, it means that the cost per watt-hour has been halved!
So even though advanced technology battery costs are rising, battery costs are actually falling on a per watt-hour basis.

And this reduction is quite large!
When Hailan Automobile first appeared, if you wanted to buy an Hailan electric car with a range of more than 400 kilometers, the price would be 500,000 or 600,000 yuan, because the battery cost was extremely high at that time...forcing Hailan Automobile to develop into the field of toys for the rich.

But now, if you buy an entry-level Hailan car with a range of more than 400 kilometers, that is, Hailan YEV, the price after subsidies is only more than 200,000 yuan, and it also gives you a semi-solid-state battery.

If consumers buy electric vehicles of other brands with a range of 400 to 500 kilometers, they can even buy them for more than 100,000 yuan after subsidies.

The cost per watt-hour of batteries is falling very fast!
This is also an important reason for the massive explosion of the electric vehicle market in the past two years.

The explosion of the electric vehicle market is due to the gradual maturity of various technologies of electric vehicles and the gradual improvement of supporting facilities for charging piles.

The sharp drop in battery costs is another aspect.

An electric car with a pure electric range of 400 to 500 kilometers can be bought for just over 100,000 yuan, which has greatly stimulated the market capacity for electric vehicles.

Not only has the low-end market capacity become larger, but the mid- to high-end market has also become larger.

The main reason is that there are more and more electric cars now, and a large number of people from high-income families are gradually accepting electric cars.

In the past, HaiLan Automobile's main sales were concentrated in first- and second-tier cities, and were mainly sold to young people.

But now, more and more high-income families in third-, fourth- and fifth-tier cities and even in small counties, as well as a large number of middle-aged people, are increasingly inclined to choose Hailan cars when buying cars. There are more and more electric cars on the road every day, and various news reports are full of domestic electric cars. Hailan cars are even more powerful than their global rivals. This situation has also greatly affected people's tendency to buy cars, making more and more people begin to accept electric cars, and high-income families are no exception.

The consumption capacity of high-income families is very considerable!

And they are also the main customer group of Hailan Automobile!

In the past, when these people bought cars, especially high-end models, the main purchasing group was middle-aged men in their thirties and forties. In the past, when these people bought cars, they either bought BMWs, Mercedes-Benzes or Audis. Some people also liked Honda, Toyota and other brands of cars that cost more than 200,000 yuan.

Now, when these groups buy cars, many of them tend to buy HaiLan’s HaiLan YEV, HaiLan SLMC and HaiLan MEV.

These three models are also Hailan Automobile’s main sales models!

The entry-level B-class sedan Hailan YEV has a standard version priced at more than 3 yuan after subsidies, while the version with longer battery life or four-wheel drive costs more than 4 yuan. All models are equipped with L-level assisted driving as standard, but L-level autonomous driving is not an option.

The mid-size B-class sedan Hailan SLMC has a standard model priced at RMB 300,000 after subsidies, a long-range dual-wheel drive version at around RMB 350,000, and a long-range four-wheel drive version at around RMB 400,000.

The entire series is equipped with L3 level assisted driving as standard.

However, you can also choose L4 level autonomous driving, but it will cost an additional yuan.

Therefore, a Hailan SLMC with L4-level autonomous driving, top-of-the-line long-range driving is actually quite expensive, with a landing price of about yuan.

There is also the Hailan MEV, which is a mid-size SUV model. Currently in China, its subsidized selling price is between 3 and 4 yuan. The entire series is also equipped with L level as standard, and L level autonomous driving can be optionally equipped.

The top-of-the-line version of the four-wheel drive, long-range, L4 autonomous driving model has a landing price of around RMB .

The above three models are the core flagship models of Hailan Automobile, and the annual sales volume of each model is in the hundreds of thousands.

Moreover, the proportion of L4-level options is very high... People buy Hailan cars, largely for the autonomous driving technology. As long as the economy can support it, they will basically buy Hailan SLMC or Hailan MEV, and then choose L4-level autonomous driving.

Of course, the single model with the highest sales volume is still the Hailan YEV. Even though this car cannot be equipped with L4-level autonomous driving, the L3-level assisted driving is sufficient for daily use. The most important thing is that it is cheap. After the subsidy, it can be purchased for yuan.

The above-mentioned models will gradually adopt solid-state batteries next year, and not just one or two types, but all models will adopt solid-state batteries.

Even though solid-state batteries are more expensive, Hailan Automobile will adopt small-volume solid-state batteries to control costs. After reducing the size and weight of the battery, the power will continue to be maintained at the standard of the previous generation of semi-solid-state batteries, and the battery life will not increase, and the cost will not increase.

It is mainly for the safety of solid-state batteries, and the safety alone is worth doing so.

Moreover, large-scale applications can further reduce the cost of solid-state batteries and prepare for larger-scale applications in the future.

Of course, a full-battery long-range version will also be launched at that time. A version with a range of more than 1,300 kilometers will be launched on models such as the Hailan SLMC. However, the price will definitely be much more expensive than the existing 700-kilometer range version. After all, if this is done, the battery cost alone will have to increase by more than 100,000 yuan, and the selling price will definitely increase as well.

So, next year people will be able to see the sea-blue SLMC with a price of over 600,000!
Xu Shenxue was also very concerned about the changes in Hailan Automobile's models next year. After the joint press conference, he personally went to Hailan Automobile to listen to information about a series of new models that Hailan Automobile will launch next year using solid-state batteries.

In addition, he also inspected the new generation of mass-produced models, an entry-level SUV temporarily named Hailan HEV!

"Our HEV uses the architecture technology of the entry-level sedan YEV, and a large number of parts are common with YEV. The two models follow the same architecture and technology route."

“This helps to significantly reduce R&D costs as well as manufacturing costs!”

"After all, according to our plan, the standard version of our Hailan HEV is expected to be priced at around 250,000 yuan after subsidies, so cost control is also very important!"

"This car model is expected to be released in May next year, and it will also use solid-state batteries. However, in order to control costs, the range of its standard version will be controlled at around 700 kilometers!

"Not only the new Hailan HEV model, but all other models will adopt solid-state batteries by next summer!"

"At present, Hailan Battery is already building a new solid-state battery factory on a large scale, and the original semi-solid-state battery factory will be transferred to Ningdai Battery!"

Previously, Hailan Battery's lithium iron phosphate battery factory was transferred to Ningdai Battery along with the technology after Hailan Automobile gave up lithium iron phosphate batteries.

This is also the reason why Hailan Automobile also holds a large number of shares in Ningdai Battery... They also put out battery factories and technologies equivalent to real money, and even semi-solid battery technology to invest.

Subsequently, these semi-solid-state battery factories will also be transferred to Ningdai Battery to expand Ningdai Battery's semi-solid-state battery production capacity.

Although Hailan Automobile has planned to fully adopt solid-state batteries next year, this is only Hailan Automobile!

Other car manufacturers cannot use solid-state batteries. Their best option at that time is to purchase Ningdai Battery's semi-solid-state batteries... As a major shareholder of Ningdai Battery, Hailan Automobile will then be able to share huge profits from it.

Advanced technology is used by itself, while backward technology is sold to the outside through Ningdai Battery, which is what Hailan Automobile has been doing in the battery field. The effect is very good, and to some extent it has even promoted the development of the entire electric vehicle industry.

Without Hailan Automobile's large-scale sales of advanced high-performance lithium iron phosphate batteries and solid-state batteries through Ningdai Battery, it would not be easy for other manufacturers to obtain these advanced batteries.

Especially the semi-solid-state battery with an energy density of 350 watt-hours per kilogram, which is the only one of its kind in the world for now!

After other manufacturers have this battery, they will also be able to assemble their own high-performance models with a range of more than 700 kilometers.

This is very good for the expansion of the entire electric vehicle market!

The electric vehicle market is an extremely large market with huge potential. It is actually difficult for Hailan Automobile alone to handle it. It needs to bring in many automobile manufacturers to expand the entire market.

Therefore, HaiLan Automobile is actually very happy to transfer or sell some outdated technology products that it does not need.

For example, lithium iron phosphate batteries were not only transferred to Ningdai Battery, but also licensed to BYD... So even though Hailan Automobile no longer produces lithium iron phosphate batteries, it can still obtain huge technology licensing fees from them.

As for the semi-solid-state battery technology, it has only been licensed to Ningdai Battery in order to prevent the technology from being leaked... However, Ningdai Battery's semi-solid-state batteries are open to external sales, and both domestic and foreign companies can purchase them... Well, some car companies in the United States are exceptions!
In response to the tariff campaign launched by General Motors and Ford against Hailan Automobile, which imposed a disgusting 100% automobile tariff on Hailan Automobile, Xu Shenxue personally ordered a ban on the supply of advanced semi-solid-state batteries to these two automobile manufacturers.

But at the same time, it has opened up to supply semi-solid-state batteries to Tesla and some other American car companies, including some new car brands.

In addition, sales of semi-solid-state batteries are also open to other European, Japanese and even Korean automakers that can enter the US market.

Therefore, starting this year, not only in the US market, but also in the electric vehicle markets in many parts of the world, there will be many electric vehicles using semi-solid-state batteries, but none of them will be from Ford and General Motors.

He wants to see how Ford and General Motors respond!

Even if Hailan Automobile itself is restricted by high tariffs and it is difficult to enter the US market on a large scale, it can still use semi-solid batteries as a weapon to support other automakers to fight against GM and Ford...

By the way, a large number of semi-solid-state batteries can be sold during this process to earn huge profits from the batteries.

Half of the cost of a mainstream electric car that sells in large quantities is the battery cost, so selling batteries alone is very profitable.

The reason why Hailan Automobile does not sell directly but wants to make a profit from Ningdai batteries... is because other automobile manufacturers, as competitors of Hailan Automobile, do not dare to trust Hailan Automobile.

Even if you dare to sell it, others won’t dare to buy it, for fear that you will do something unfair to them!
In order to gain trust and to open up the markets of major global automobile companies, Ningdai Battery came into being.

This is a battery company in which Xu Shenxue holds more than 70 percent of the shares through his various subsidiaries, giving him absolute control. However, many large global automakers also hold small shares in the company, so to some extent, their interests are tied together.

This is also quite interesting.

Other car companies don’t trust HaiLan Automobile and its CEO Bao Yongyan alone, and feel uneasy!

But now that Xu Shenxue is in control of the business personally through Liuhe Investment, they can rest assured again!
This has a lot to do with Xu Shenxue's personal prestige.

Bao Yongyan, CEO of Hailan Automobile, came forward and said to major car companies, "We are a family playing together. If you use my batteries, I will never cheat you..." Major car companies will definitely be on guard against him and would rather use technologically backward batteries to play with him.

But Xu Shenxue came up with the Ningdai battery, and then said to all the major car companies: Come on, let's all invest some shares, and then use this battery together, hold it steady, and I will take you all to take off!
Everyone believed it!

Even if you don't believe it, you will join in order not to be left behind by the times.

The world's richest man, a high-tech tycoon, is considered by many to be the man with the greatest hope of leading mankind to the stars.

His words still carry a lot of weight!

Especially for companies in the industry, Xu Shenxue’s commitment cannot be ignored!

Of course, while joining Ningdai Battery and clinging to Xu Shenxue, they did not forget to develop their own batteries, trying to keep up with the trend of the times!

The problem is that I can’t keep up!
They haven't even developed a usable semi-solid-state battery, but Hailan Automobile has developed a solid-state battery. In a few years, according to Hailan Automobile's nature, it will most likely open up solid-state batteries to the outside world through Ningdai Battery... In addition to selling millions of cars, they will also sell battery packs for tens of millions or even more electric vehicles. That scene is beautiful just to think about!

After all, more than half of the cost of electric vehicles is the battery pack! Selling batteries directly will not make much less money than selling cars directly.

This will make other battery manufacturers very uncomfortable.

So to some extent, for many companies and practitioners in the battery industry, they have been abandoned by the times!
(End of this chapter)