從各大新聞?lì)^條來看，固態(tài)電池似乎已經(jīng)“觸手可及”，并將在不久的將來廣泛應(yīng)用至電動(dòng)汽車領(lǐng)域，并在較小范圍內(nèi)應(yīng)用至其他消費(fèi)電子產(chǎn)品領(lǐng)域。在2019 年 9 月的北美電池展（2019 Battery Show of North America）上，有關(guān)固態(tài)電池的專家討論和演講數(shù)不勝數(shù)。理想很美好，但現(xiàn)實(shí)卻很殘酷：在展會(huì)的“固態(tài)電池可行性”圓桌討論會(huì)上，專家們一致認(rèn)為，這項(xiàng)技術(shù)至少在未來五年內(nèi)都無法達(dá)到量產(chǎn)電動(dòng)汽車的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
在眾多原因中，最主要的兩點(diǎn)是：成本和可制造性。
盡管如此，展會(huì)上的大多數(shù)專家都認(rèn)為，固態(tài)電池勢(shì)必將進(jìn)入電動(dòng)汽車領(lǐng)域，只是時(shí)間早晚而已。一位分析師估計(jì)，僅在 2018 年，固態(tài)電池企業(yè)就拿到了 5 億美元投資。
北美電池展的五人專家小組包括一位來自福特的代表、一位來自豐田的代表、兩位電池開發(fā)商和一位大學(xué)研究人員，這些專家均未質(zhì)疑固態(tài)電池技術(shù)的潛力。由于鋰箔陽極可以克服非液體電解質(zhì)電極設(shè)計(jì)中常見的電導(dǎo)率低的問題，因此得到了最廣泛的應(yīng)用，也正因如此，固態(tài)電池技術(shù)有時(shí)也被稱為鋰金屬電池。目前，固態(tài)電池已經(jīng)應(yīng)用至心臟起搏器等應(yīng)用，但如何才能以合理的成本批量生產(chǎn)用于汽車的固態(tài)電池，尚不得而知。
A123 Systems 電池開發(fā)副總裁 Brian Sisk 表示：“我們開發(fā)固態(tài)電池是為了節(jié)省成本。”他說，固態(tài)電池?fù)?jù)說有潛力將當(dāng)下鋰離子電池的能量密度提高一倍。這意味固態(tài)電池的成本效益是鋰離子電池的兩倍，此外還有在縮小尺寸和降低重量方面的優(yōu)勢(shì)。
但是 Sisk 同時(shí)表示，除非成本降低至當(dāng)今鋰離子電池之下，否則固態(tài)電池很難真正參與汽車領(lǐng)域的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。盡管，一些豪華汽車或高性能汽車可能愿意為了增加續(xù)航里程或降低重量而為電池支付更高的價(jià)格，但固態(tài)電池要想登陸量產(chǎn)汽車，則單位千瓦時(shí)成本必須繼續(xù)降低。
福特固態(tài)電池部門負(fù)責(zé)人 Venkat Anandan 表示，公司“正在積極研究多種類型的固態(tài)電池”，并表示福特正在積極爭(zhēng)取在能源密度、安全性和成本方面的優(yōu)勢(shì)。2019 年 4 月，福特宣布將投資位于科羅拉多州的固態(tài)技術(shù)開發(fā)商 Solid Power。除了福特，寶馬、現(xiàn)代和三星也是 Solid Power 的投資人。Anandan 表示，他認(rèn)為固態(tài)電池真正應(yīng)用至量產(chǎn)電動(dòng)汽車至少還需要五年時(shí)間。
與此同時(shí)，電池開發(fā)商 SolidEnergy Systems 公司首席執(zhí)行官小組成員 胡啟朝 對(duì)固態(tài)電池技術(shù)發(fā)展的態(tài)度更為樂觀，但也表示確實(shí)存在一些問題。SolidEnergy 公司制造的半固態(tài)電解質(zhì)固態(tài)電池已經(jīng)應(yīng)用至一些高海拔長(zhǎng)途車輛、消費(fèi)者無人機(jī)和其他航空航天應(yīng)用。胡先生表示，他相信汽車領(lǐng)域?qū)⒃谖磥?-5年內(nèi)迎來半固態(tài)電池，并在七到十年內(nèi)迎來鋰金屬固態(tài)電池。北美豐田研究所材料研究部門首席科學(xué)家小組成員Timothy Arthur 表示：“豐田長(zhǎng)期以來一直以固態(tài)電池為重，這已不是秘密，”并提醒我們豐田已承諾將在 2020 年東京奧運(yùn)會(huì)期間投運(yùn)一批使用固態(tài)電池的電動(dòng)汽車。但是，他并未直接預(yù)測(cè)固態(tài)電池將何時(shí)用于量產(chǎn)電動(dòng)汽車。
A123 System 公司的Sisk 表示，該公司計(jì)劃明年啟動(dòng)一條使用石墨陽極的固態(tài)電池生產(chǎn)線，并于此同時(shí)繼續(xù)克服鋰金屬電池在成本和其他可制造性方面的挑戰(zhàn)。
Sisk 補(bǔ)充說，固態(tài)電池的單位成本并不一定必須降至當(dāng)今鋰離子電池的水平。這是因?yàn)楸M管固態(tài)電池的成本可能更高，但可以在系統(tǒng)層面降低其他車輛成本。他詳細(xì)介紹說，比如，由于固態(tài)電池沒有著火或過熱的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，因此所需的電池保護(hù)結(jié)構(gòu)可能更少，相應(yīng)的電池管理和熱管理成本也會(huì)降低。
作者：Bill Visnic
本文原發(fā)表于SAE《自動(dòng)駕駛車輛工程》雜志
Solid-state batteries are the “reach” energy-storage technology slated to take electric vehicles (EVs) – and to a lesser extent, other consumer-electronic products – to the next level. And at September’s 2019 Battery Show of North America, speaker panels and presentations about solid-state certainly were in abundance. Just one problem: experts at the show’s Solid-State Battery Feasibility roundtable discussion where brutally realistic in agreeing the technology won’t meet criteria for mass-production EVs for at least five years.
The reasons for the five-year wait are manifest, but the two primary factors are familiar to the automotive sector: cost and manufacturability.
Nonetheless, most experts here agree that solid-state batteries for EVs certainly are not an “if,” but a “when. ”One analyst estimate indicates $500 million was invested in solid-state battery ventures in 2018 alone.
None on the five-person panel that included representatives from Ford and Toyota, two cell developers and a university researcher, questioned the potential or the science for solid-state technology, often referred to as lithium metal because of the lithium-foil anode widely used to help the design overcome the reduced-conductivity typical of non-liquid electrolytes. Solid-state batteries already are in use for heart pacemakers and other applications, but determining how to manufacture the batteries for automobiles in volume at a reasonable cost currently isn’t possible.
“We’re doing this [developing solidstate batteries] for cost,” said Brian Sisk, vice-president of battery development at A123 Systems. He said the technology’s oft-touted potential to double the energy density of current conventional lithium-ion batteries means a concurrent potential to halve battery cost for a given capacity (not to mention reduce size and weight).
But Sisk said he is certain that unless and until solid-state technology can be installed in EVs at less cost than today’s lithium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries will not be able to compete. There may be “premium” or high-performance applications for which a higher-cost battery might be an acceptable trade for longer range or reduced weight. But for mass-production vehicles, he believes today’s cost per kilowatt-hour ratio must be improved for solid-state technology to be adopted.
Venkat Anandan, Ford’s Group Leader, solid-state batteries, said the company is “actively looking at many types of solid-state batteries,” saying Ford is anxious to reap the energy-density, safety and cost benefits. Ford announced in April that it is investing in Colorado’s Solid Power, a developer of solid-state technology that also counts BMW, Hyundai and Samsung as investors. Anandan said he believes it will be at least five years before solid-state batteries will be viable for mass-produced EVs.
Meanwhile, panelist Qichao Hu, CEO of battery developer SolidEnergy Systems, was slightly more optimistic in his timeline for solid-state technology – but with some caveats. His company already is manufacturing solid-state batteries with semi-solid electrolyte for high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) vehicles, consumer drones and other aerospace applications. Hu said he believes the semi-solid design may be vehicle-applicable in 3-5 years and sees lithium-metal designs available in 7-10 years. Panelist Timothy Arthur, principal scientist – Materials Research Dept. at Toyota Research Institute of North America, said, “It’s no secret that Toyota’s been high on solid-state batteries for a long time,” and reminded that the company has promised to have vehicles with solid-state batteries in operation during the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. But he did not directly speculate about when solid-state batteries will be fitted to production EVs.
A123’s Sisk said the company intends to have a pilot production line in operation next year using a graphite anode while the company continues to work on the cost and other manufacturability challenges of lithium-metal.
He added that cost at the battery-cell level may not necessarily have to achieve parity with today’s lithium-ion cells; although solid-state battery cells might cost more, they could deliver cost-reductions at the systems level. Because solid-state batteries have no risk of fire or thermal runaway, he said battery-protection structure potentially could be reduced, as could battery-management and thermal-management costs.
Author: Bill Visnic
Source: SAE Automotive Engineering Magazine
博世曾研究過固態(tài)電池，但隨后決定不再繼續(xù)開發(fā)或制造電池。（博世）
比較鋰離子電池與固態(tài)電池的特性與設(shè)計(jì)（Solid Power）
與現(xiàn)有的鋰離子電池相比，SolidEnergy Systems展示了固態(tài)電池可能減小的尺寸。（SolidEnergy系統(tǒng)）
（Solid Power）