"New quality productive forces" is one of the buzzwords of this year. As a leader in the global power battery industry, Gotion High-tech will focus on improving technology, iterating products and introducing digital technology into production management in the year.

Technology: Granted patents have risen by 19 times in six years

As a technology-driven business, Gotion High-Tech regards technological innovation as the core competitiveness. In 2022, its R&D investment reached RMB 2.416 billion, up 107.09% year on year, accounting for more than 10% of its revenue for four consecutive years. This years-long generous investment in R&D is paying off handsomely for it. Let's first look at the rankings in several key business markets: The installed capacity of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in the world ranks third; the installed capacity of power batteries for special NEVs in China has ranked second for many years; the global shipment of lithium batteries for energy storage ranks sixth and it also takes pride in being included into Bloomberg's global list of tier 1 energy storage manufacturers 2024; its most important core technology is LFP in which it enjoys global leadership. All of these impressive achievements come as a result of Gotion High-tech's continuous efforts in technology for over a decade. Now, it's able to manufacture LFP battery cells with an energy density of 230wh/kg and will mass-produce it soon; it's also working to create Pack 3.0 platform solutions, accelerate the development and application of energy storage products with higher safety, longer cycle life and lower cost, and research all-solid-state batteries with an energy density of 900 Wh/L and 1000V/5C ultra-fast charging technology. Compared with 2017, the number of patent applications and granted patents has increased by 10 times and 19 times respectively this year.
                 

So far, Gotion High-tech has nearly 7,000 R&D technicians. By the end of December 2023, the company had applied for 8,083 patents, of which 3,573 were invention patents (242 being foreign patents), 4,049 were utility models, and 461 were appearance designs; the company had obtained a total of 5,065 patents, of which 1,253 were invention patents (83 being foreign patents), 3,398 were utility models and 414 were appearance designs. In addition, the company had published 280 research papers, 24 SCI papers and 182 core publications, and completed 198 copyright registrations; it had presided over and participated in formulating 75 standards, among which there were two international standards, 31 national standards, 14 industry standards, seven local standards, and 21 association standards.

Product: Constantly diversify and iterate products

From February 28 to March 1, this year, Gotion High-tech displayed several new battery products for vehicles and energy storage at the 2024 BATTERY JAPAN exhibition. The debut of the 5MWh liquid-cooled container energy storage system, 46-Series Cylindrical battery cells, and the upgraded version of its mobile energy storage charging vehicle for the overseas market attracted significant attention.

New Product No.1: 5MWh Liquid-cooled Container Energy Storage System

The system has a standard 20-foot battery tank, which is roughly the size of a shipping container yet offers a revolutionary improvement in capacity, reaching 5MWh. Furthermore, the product's cycle life is over 10,000 times, enabling the system to operate safely for a minimum of 15-20 years. Its PACK-level submersion fire suppression feature can restrain thermal runaways inside individual packs — a pioneering industrial feature that prohibits fire spread within the battery tank. What's more, the design incorporates three levels of physical safety protection, ensuring safer system operation. Apart from these, it has many more highlights. This is Gotion High-tech's brand new product launched for the energy storage market at home and abroad this year— the Gotion Grid, a 5MWh liquid-cooled large energy storage product. This battery tank employs 314Ah ESS large-format battery cells for energy storage, which is the core reason it is considered much more high-energy than similar products. "We also equipped it with a high-precision intelligent control system and big data platform, capable of millisecond-level response and intelligent operation and maintenance support. In addition, the unique 'back-to-back' and 'side-by-side' design enables a 100MWh project to save up to 35% of the land area and construction costs, compared with traditional products," described relevant personnel.

Figure: 5MWh Liquid-cooled Container Energy Storage System

New Product No.2: The 46-Series Cylindrical Batteries "Star Morning Series"

The 46-Series cylindrical batteries are one of the mainstay products in Gotion High-tech's third-generation battery cells. The launched 46 large cylindrical series, named the "Star Morning Series", includes a total of six products comprised of first-generation, second-generation, and second-generation pro versions. To be specific, the second-generation product reaches an energy density of up to 300Wh/kg, capable of fast charging to 80% in 18 minutes, while the second-generation pro version (super-fast charging product) can further achieve a charge of 10 minutes. These batteries consistently avoid thermal runaway, positioning them as true high-specific-energy, high-safety, and high-speed charging battery products. The current main models being promoted are 4695 and 46120, with future variants offering adjustable heights ranging from 80 to 150mm for customers, which will enable flexible adaptation to various PACK envelopes, catering to different vehicle application scenarios.

Display of Various Models of Star Morning Series

New Product No.3: Yijiadian Intelligent Mobile Energy Storage Charging Vehicle

First introduced in 2022, the Yijiadian Intelligent Mobile Energy Storage Charging Pile was a product developed by the Company for the consumer (2C) market. This year, this product has been further enhanced with two major technical upgrades. First, the charging power has been increased from 60kw to 150kw, significantly reducing the time that users have to wait for charging and meeting users' demand for fast charging. Second, automatic driving has been realized. With the upgrading of control-by-wire chassis, users can apply for electricity services with one click on the app, further improving the convenience and intelligent experience for users. So far, 1,000 units of Yijiadian's products have been put into operation. The products are available in 30 cities in China, such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Hefei, and Macao. Besides, the products are sold to overseas markets such as the United States, Japan, Germany, Singapore, Thailand, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. They cover application scenarios such as expressway service areas, office parks, transportation hubs, scenic spots, and exhibition halls. With the upgrading of two major technologies, business model innovation, and the expansion of marketing and customer acquisition channels, Yijiadian will further improve user experience. The future market size is expected to reach 100,000 units.

Productivity: The productivity has increased from 1,000 workers/GWh to 16 workers/GWh due to digital management

Focusing on the production of Volkswagen's unified cells, the Gotion Xinzhan phase I factory has achieved large-scale industrial production. It needs to continuously optimize internal processes and improve customer satisfaction with the empowerment of digitization in the future. Digitization has become a core element of the Xinzhan factory's management strategy. All the management personnel and teams of the factory are dedicated to digitization. They have promoted the successful establishment of the digital manufacturing execution system (MES). The system can monitor and record the entire production process. It includes massive data to ensure that the production data of each battery cell is traceable. The system has been used for the real-time display of the environmental status of clean rooms and drying rooms as well as the prediction of output and OEE of production equipment, marking a significant advance in data availability and transparency. In addition, the data has been used in the daily report of the workshop site management assessment and implemented throughout the reporting process. Next, the accumulated data will be used for analysis, guidance, and prediction. In this case, the process of the Xinzhan factory can be automatically adjusted and improved. The Xinzhan UC factory, which has fully implemented digital management, currently uses the latest sixth-generation production line of Gotion High-tech. Compared with the productivity of the first-generation production line of 1,000 workers/GWh, the sixth-generation production line only needs 16 workers/GWh.