BYD's chief scientist expects solid-state batteries to be widely used in 5 years, starting with high-end models, the first time a BYD executive has spoken publicly on the topic in the last few years.

BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY), the world's largest new energy vehicle (NEV) maker and the second-largest maker of batteries, expressed its views on solid-state batteries.

Widespread use of solid-state batteries may be difficult to see in the next 3 years, but it's expected to be realized in 5 years, BYD chief scientist Lian Yubo said today in a speech at the 2024 World New Energy Vehicle Congress (WNEVC 2024) in Haikou, Hainan province.

Solid-state batteries will likely be used only in high-end models initially, and then gradually in mid-to-low end and budget models, Lian said, according to a video of his speech seen by CnEVPost.

In the field of solid-state batteries, BYD is doing in-depth research, he said.

Currently, the solid-state battery field faces challenges including high costs, complex manufacturing processes and difficult integration with vehicles, Lian said.

Solid-state batteries started to get wide attention in China after Nio (NYSE: NIO) announced a 150-kWh semisolid battery when it unveiled its ET7 sedan at the January 9, 2021 Nio Day 2020 event.

Nio's semi-solid-state battery pack began trial operations in May of this year after several delays, and became officially operational on a daily rental basis in June.

The semi-solid battery's cells come from local startup Beijing WeLion New Energy Technology and have an energy density of 360 Wh/kg.

Because it's new technology, the 150-kWh battery pack is currently costly, with Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong mentioning in February 2023 that the pack costs about the same as an ET5, Nio brand's least expensive model to date that has a starting price of RMB 298,000 ($42,480) including the battery.

Lian's speech was the first time in the past few years that a BYD executive has spoken publicly about solid-state batteries.

On April 28, Wu Kai, chief scientist at CATL, the world's largest maker of power batteries, said at the China International Battery Fair (CIBF) 2024 event that the company aimed to produce all-solid-state batteries in small batches by 2027, but that high-volume production would still face problems including cost.

BYD is the world's second-largest power battery maker, with a 16.1 percent share and 69.9 GWh of installed capacity in January-July, according to data released on September 4 by South Korean market researcher SNE Research.

CATL continued to be the world's No. 1 in the global market with 163.3 GWh of installed capacity and a 37.6 percent share in the same period.

BYD, which currently produces mainly lithium iron phosphate (LFP) power batteries, had a 33.53 percent share of China's LFP battery market in August, second only to CATL's 36.61 percent, according to the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).

The company's share of China's ternary battery market was only 0.34 percent in August, ranking 10th.

In China's EV battery market, LFP batteries have dominated, with 35 GWh installed in August, accounting for 74.2 percent of the total, according to CABIA.

China's lithium ternary battery installed volume in August was 12.1 GWh, accounting for 25.7 percent of the total installed volume.

LFP batteries have been in development for more than 20 years, and already have a stable manufacturing process, a rich supply chain, and cost efficiencies, Lian said in today's speech, adding that LFP batteries will actually contribute to the research and production of solid-state batteries as well.

He doesn't think LFP batteries will be obsolete in the next 15, or even 20 years, and will be developed alongside solid-state batteries for use in different classes of vehicles.

($1 = RMB 7.0151)

Sunwoda expects all-solid-state battery costs to fall to levels near semi-solid-state batteries by 2026