Liu Shiqiang Presents Solid-State Battery Evaluation Technologies and Industrialization Challenges at TEDA Forum

On September 18, at the "New Technology Ecosystem Session: Next-Generation Batteries Reshaping the Industrial Ecosystem" of the 22nd China Automotive Industry Development (TEDA) International Forum, Liu Shiqiang, Chief Expert of China Automotive Technology & Research Center Co., Ltd., delivered a speech titled "Development and Challenges of Evaluation Technologies for New-Generation Power Batteries." Liu stated that China's solid-state battery industry has preliminarily achieved the critical technological breakthrough from 0 to 1. The comprehensive transformation across the entire technology chain has rendered traditional evaluation systems for liquid electrolyte batteries obsolete, making the upgrade of evaluation methodologies and industrial economic viability the core challenges in the next phase. He explained that over the past 15 to 16 years, China’s power battery industry has developed two representative technical pathways: the energy density of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries has increased from approximately 100 Wh/kg around 2015 to 200 Wh/kg today; meanwhile, the ternary system has evolved from early NCM 611 to NCM 811 and is now widely deployed at scale. Since 2023, China has been advancing multiple electrolyte systems—including sulfides, chlorides, oxides, and polymers—and after three to four years of focused R&D efforts, has reached international parity in areas such as materials development and manufacturing processes. Currently, the industry is converging toward a more concentrated roadmap: sulfide-based electrolytes dominate with polymer-based ones playing a supplementary role; cathodes are focusing on Ni-rich NCM 9-series and high-density lithium-rich manganese-based chemistries; anodes are primarily silicon-based, while lithium metal and anode-free technologies continue to be explored. In August 2026, the national standard GB/T 48093.1—2026 was released, defining the criteria for identifying automotive solid-state batteries: through high-temperature and vacuum testing, the proportion of volatile components inside the battery must be below 0.5%. Conventional liquid electrolyte batteries typically exceed 10%–12% on this metric. Solid-state batteries currently in mass production or under development can stably maintain this value below 0.5%. Regarding evaluation systems, solid-state batteries typically operate within a temperature range of 35°C to 45°C, with some products requiring stable operation between 50°C and 60°C. The required stack pressure has decreased from 20 MPa two years ago to 5–8 MPa among leading enterprises. However, cells of size 400×100 mm still need to withstand several tons of pressure, and test fixtures weigh 50–60 kg, requiring two people for assembly. Additionally, Battery Management Systems (BMS) must incorporate new functionalities beyond conventional state-of-charge (SOC), state-of-health (SOH), and thermal management—specifically, precise heating control, real-time pressure monitoring, and dynamic mechanical regulation. China Automotive Technology & Research Center has partnered with the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CATL, BYD, and multiple universities to establish a full-chain solid-state battery evaluation system covering materials, cells, modules, and systems. To date, China has formulated 19 national standards for solid-state batteries, of which four have been officially published and 12 are under development. In July 2026, an IEC international standard proposal on solid-state batteries led by China was formally approved; in August, multiple international standard proposals for battery systems were submitted at the ISM International Conference in France. Liu also noted that in laboratory settings, semi-automated production of 1–2 Ah prototype solid-state cells achieves a yield rate of 70%–80%, but material waste remains significant, keeping costs persistently high.