Power batteries are the heart of new energy vehicles. In one year, the investment of power battery projects in Hubei has exceeded 100 billion yuan! Hubei is becoming a gathering area for the domestic new energy power battery industry.

The heart of traditional fuel vehicles is the engine, and the heart of new energy vehicles is the power battery. All media reporters from Hubei Daily combed the public information and found that since 2021, power battery projects have landed in Hubei. At present, leading enterprises such as CATL, BYD, and China Innovation Airlines, which are in the forefront of domestic vehicle loading, all have important layouts in Hubei.

"The agglomeration effect of the industry makes companies in the industry chain follow the leading companies." Professor Xie Jincheng, deputy director of the China Investment Research Center of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, said that Hubei, relying on its own advantages, is forming an agglomeration area for the domestic new energy power battery industry .

The main production area of power batteries is gaining momentum

Since 2021, there has been continuous good news in Hubei in terms of new energy power batteries, and news of the signing and commencement of various new energy battery projects and related projects has appeared frequently.

The total investment is 10 billion yuan! The AVIC Wuhan Base Project is located in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone. After it is put into production, it can provide power batteries for 250,000 pure electric vehicles every year.

Invest another 6 billion yuan! Hengtong Group, a leading optical communication company, has deployed a cathode material industry chain project in Zhijiang.

The total planned investment is 46.3 billion yuan! Jingmen Power Storage Battery Industrial Park started construction, with an annual output value of 127 billion yuan after it was put into operation.

With an investment of 32 billion yuan, in Yichang, the construction of the Ningde Times Bangpu Integrated Battery Materials Industrial Park project is in full swing.

At the beginning of 2022, the information that the heavy power battery project has settled in Hubei is also frequently seen in the media——

On February 23, Envision Technology Group said it plans to invest 48 billion yuan in Hubei Province to build new energy projects such as power battery factories.

On February 27, the BYD Xiangyang Industrial Park project started with a total investment of 10 billion yuan in the first phase. In addition, there are a number of new energy vehicles and supporting projects started in Xiangyang, with a total investment of more than 30 billion yuan.

New energy power battery projects are frequently implemented, behind which is the vigorous development of the new energy vehicle industry. In January, the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance released data showing that in 2021, my country's power battery output will accumulate 219.7GWh, a cumulative increase of 163.4% year-on-year. The total installed capacity of power batteries was 154.5GWh, a year-on-year increase of 142.8%. The output of new energy vehicles in Hubei is also growing rapidly. Data from the Provincial Bureau of Statistics shows that in 2021, the output of new energy vehicles in Hubei will increase by 3.8 times.

According to public information, in one year, the new energy power battery projects and supporting projects that have landed in Hubei have invested at least 100 billion yuan, and the corresponding production capacity has exceeded 200GWh. Coupled with the existing production capacity in Hubei, it is foreseeable that in a few years, Hubei will become one of the main producing areas of new energy power batteries in China.

Why do battery industry leaders favor Hubei

The agglomeration of power battery projects will bring about a huge industrial cluster.

Xie Jincheng said that Hubei has made great efforts to build a new energy and intelligent networked vehicle industry chain in recent years, and all localities have made new energy vehicle-related projects as the focus of investment promotion, attracting more and more battery industry chain companies to take root in the layout, revolving around the industry formed by battery giants. The cluster effect and scale effect will be very prominent.

"Hubei's automobile production ranks fourth in the country, and in terms of the supporting capacity of the automobile industry, Hubei is one of the best." Xie Jincheng believes that Hubei is an important transportation hub and automobile industry base in my country, forming the "Han Xiao Sui Xiang Ten" automobile corridor. And the strength is incomparable to the general area. For convenience and cost considerations, battery companies will also choose to be close to customers and the market.

In recent years, changes in the cost of battery raw materials have also enabled Hubei to gain a competitive advantage.

According to the 2021 data released by the Battery Alliance, among all types of power batteries, the production and loading of lithium iron phosphate batteries account for more than half of the total, and the growth rate also exceeds 200%, significantly ahead of traditional ternary batteries. lithium battery. Many of the projects that have settled in Hubei since last year are the production of lithium iron phosphate batteries or related accessories.

When battery companies choose lithium iron phosphate, cost is one of the biggest considerations. Since the second half of 2021, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate has risen sharply, from 87,500 yuan per ton in July 2021 to the current price of over 500,000 yuan per ton, and the upward trend has not slowed down. With the decline in subsidies for new energy vehicles, lithium iron phosphate batteries with relatively cheap raw materials have a cost advantage, so the output and loading volume have greatly surpassed ternary lithium batteries.

Hubei has abundant phosphate rock resources and a complete phosphorus chemical industry chain, which is exactly what is needed for the production of lithium iron phosphate batteries. Battery companies can obtain low-cost raw materials, and the market demand for batteries has activated the demand for upstream raw materials. Hubei phosphorus chemical companies and battery companies have achieved a win-win situation. Hubei Yihua, whose main products are diammonium phosphate, urea, polyvinyl chloride, and soda ash, will see its share price rise by 565.94% in 2021, ranking first in the country.

Only by breaking through the core technology can we go up against the wind

According to the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the new energy power battery industry in our province is currently mainly distributed in Wuhan, Jingmen, Shiyan, Xiangyang, Yichang and other places. The existing enterprises are involved in the research and development and production of battery packs, cathode materials, battery separators and other products. The pattern of focus and dislocation development.

In some places, a relatively complete regional industrial chain has been formed. For example, Zhijiang Yaojiagang Chemical Park has settled in many domestic new energy leading enterprises. The park and its surrounding areas have basic chemical materials and primary products such as phosphoric acid and diammonium phosphate. At present, there are 10 new energy and new materials enterprises in Zhijiang, which can produce main materials for batteries such as cathode materials, electrolytes and separators.

"Such large-scale projects will benefit the location for a long time." Xie Jincheng said. But any industry is cyclical, with rises and declines. At present, the new energy power battery industry is surging, and it is natural to seize the wind. However, how to avoid the decline in the future after the industry ebbs, it is necessary to plan ahead.

"The key is to master core technologies," said Ye Xueping, director of the Economic Research Institute of the Provincial Academy of Social Sciences. When new energy vehicles emerged a few years ago, Hubei exposed weak links in key technology research and development, production capacity and brand building of "three powers". The problem will hopefully be alleviated, but the shortcomings in core technology have not yet been fully filled.

In the "14th Five-Year" Development Plan for the Automobile Industry of Hubei Province issued in early 2022, it is also clearly pointed out that the output of new energy vehicles in our province accounts for a small proportion of the country, which is inconsistent with the status of a major automobile province. Power batteries need to be broken through in terms of safety, reliability, and convenience of charging and replacing. The plan also puts forward goals and measures to strengthen technological innovation, enhance core competitiveness, enhance quality brands, and build leading enterprises.

"By supporting industry giants, many 'little giant' companies can be born." Ye Xueping said, but if you want to be a giant yourself, you still have to have the hard power of independent innovation. Editor/Sang Xiaomei