In 2023, Guoxuan High-tech's overseas battery production capacity saw significant gains, and its independently developed new LFMP system L600 Qicheng battery cells and battery packs were officially released. With a range of up to 1000 kilometers, these batteries are expected to enter mass production in 2024. Additionally, the company has partnered with BASF, Edison Power Co., Ltd., and other enterprises to promote new technological breakthroughs in power batteries.
Let's take a look back at some key events that occurred at Guoxuan High-tech in 2023!
On December 21, Guoxuan High-tech's first battery pack product in the United States rolled off the line at the Fremont factory. Following the announcements of battery and material layouts in Illinois and Michigan, this marks another significant move for Guoxuan High-tech. This step signifies the official commencement of "Made in America" for Guoxuan batteries. Situated in the Silicon Valley area, the Fremont factory has a planned capacity of 1GWh, with an automated production rate of 85%, making it Guoxuan's first Pack production line in the US market.
According to Reuters, on November 23, the Slovak Ministry of Economy announced that Chinese battery manufacturer Guoxuan High-tech and Slovak partner InoBat had signed a memorandum of understanding to build an electric vehicle battery factory in Slovakia. The joint venture company, Gotion InoBat Batteries, plans to start production of electric vehicle batteries at the new factory in 2026, with an initial annual capacity of 20 gigawatt-hours.
In September, Guoxuan High-tech and startup InoBat announced plans to jointly build an electric vehicle factory at an undisclosed location in Europe. Earlier this year, Guoxuan High-tech also announced plans to acquire a 25% stake in InoBat and provide supply chain and technical support to expand the production of electric vehicle batteries.
On September 18, Guoxuan High-tech's first battery production and operation base in Europe reached a milestone as the first battery production line at the Gottingen factory in Germany officially started production. This marks the localization of production and supply in Europe, initiating the "Made in Germany" journey for Guoxuan batteries.
The Gottingen factory has a total planned capacity of 20GWh, expected to be completed in four phases. Once fully operational, it is expected to achieve an annual output value of 2 billion euros. The battery pack products from this factory include commercial vehicle batteries, energy storage system batteries, and passenger vehicle batteries. Additionally, the factory will serve as Guoxuan's European research and development center, logistics center, and after-sales service point.
Official sources reveal that the factory has received a large number of orders from European customers and is expected to start supplying to European customers from October. By mid-2024, the actual production capacity of the factory is expected to reach 5GWh.
On July 10, Guoxuan High-tech and BASF signed a strategic cooperation agreement aimed at further strengthening cooperation in materials science to promote material innovation and technological progress in power batteries. Under the agreement, the two parties will expand cooperation areas based on existing collaborations to jointly develop and promote the application of relevant chemical materials in the battery field leveraging their strong core technologies.
On May 19, at the 12th Technology Conference, Guoxuan High-tech unveiled its independently developed new LFMP system L600 Qicheng battery cells and battery packs with a range of up to 1000 kilometers, expected to enter mass production in 2024.
Cheng Qianbo, Executive President of Guoxuan High-tech's International Business Unit, stated that in recent years, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology has regained market acceptance and its market share continues to increase. Meanwhile, the energy density growth of mass-produced lithium iron phosphate batteries has reached a bottleneck, further enhancement requiring the improvement of chemical systems. Hence, manganese-doped lithium iron phosphate batteries were developed. The L600 LMFP battery cell doped with "manganese" can achieve a mass energy density of 240Wh/kg, 4000 cycles at room temperature, 1800 cycles at high temperature, and easily achieve 18-minute fast charging, passing all safety tests. With the use of L600 cells, the grouping volume rate of Qicheng battery packs reaches 76%, surpassing the pack energy density of ternary systems currently in mass production, and the system energy density reaches 190Wh/kg. "Because of the high energy density of Qicheng materials, we can achieve a range of 1000 kilometers without using ternary materials," Cheng said.
On May 10, Guoxuan High-tech announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hefei Guoxuan, had received a purchase order from Volkswagen Group, making the company the designated supplier for Volkswagen's overseas market, supplying Volkswagen with lithium iron phosphate "Unified Cell" power lithium battery products. This marks another significant breakthrough in the market after obtaining formal production orders for ternary and lithium iron phosphate batteries for Volkswagen's Chinese market. The battery cells adopt the same design style and specifications as those in the Chinese market and are aimed at Volkswagen Group's entire range of new energy vehicles.
On March 20, Guoxuan High-tech and Japan's Edison Power Co., Ltd. reached a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly develop Japan's energy storage and recycling markets, promote the popularization of renewable energy in Japan, and enter the Japanese market with Guoxuan batteries.
Under the agreement, during the cooperation period, both parties will implement market strategies based on market demand, with a planned sales target of 1GWh in the first year, increasing to 2GWh annually from the second year. Guoxuan High-tech will provide battery cells, modules, BMS, etc., while Edison Power Co., Ltd. will be responsible for Japanese energy storage customer management, EPC services, energy storage system operation and maintenance, and other market-side services. Additionally, in this cooperation, Guoxuan High-tech will work with Edison Power Co., Ltd. to jointly establish a recycling system for energy storage batteries in Japan.
Recently, Guoxuan High-tech announced that it would provide power batteries for the recently launched light version of the small electric SUV Nano BOX by Yijiate New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Yijiate"). It is reported that the Nano BOX Light has three models, all equipped with Guoxuan High-tech lithium iron phosphate batteries, among which the Lightning and Advanced models can be fast charged from 30% to 80% in just 32 minutes, and fully charged in 3 hours.
Established in 2017, Yijiate is a joint venture between Dongfeng Motor Corporation and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, and its supplier system belongs to the Alliance's supplier system. In 2021, Guoxuan High-tech successfully passed the Alliance's quality audit. The cooperation with Yijiate indicates that Guoxuan batteries have successfully entered the Alliance's supplier system and achieved supply.
Guoxuan High-tech also pointed out that the Alliance's standards comply with international standards in multiple regions, which means that it has the opportunity to establish broader cooperation with the Alliance on a global scale in the future.
