Chapter 317: Blockbuster

In 1799, Idailian physicist Volt dipped a piece of zinc plate and a tin plate in saltwater and discovered that there was current flowing through the wires connecting the two metals. Therefore, he placed fluffed cloth or paper sheets soaked in saltwater between zinc sheets and silver sheets and stacked many of them together. A strong current stimulation could be felt when one’s hands were placed on both ends. Using this method, Volt created the world’s first battery; the “Voltaic pile.”

In that event, the battery had been around for more than two hundred years since its appearance. But two hundred years have passed. Unlike transistors in Moore’s Law, there was no significant improvement in the energy density of batteries throughout history. The earliest batteries which were widely used was carbon-zinc batteries. It had an energy density of about 30-100 Watt-hour per kilogram. The battery could only be used once but low pricing. The lead-acid battery that was invented subsequently was even more widely used. Its energy density was about 60-120 Watt-hour per kilogram but could be charged repeatedly. Paired with its cheap pricing, it swiftly became the mainstream and prevailed for almost a hundred years. Till now, it had yet died out. But the energy density of lead-acid batteries was too low. Hence, during the 1960s, Lithium batteries came into being. It had an energy density of 150-250 Watt-hour per kilogram, which was equivalent to twice that of lead batteries. Some high-performance lithium batteries even had an energy density of up to 300 Watt-hour per kilogram. Theoretically, they had the potential to reach 1000 Watt-hour per kilogram.

But a theory remains a theory. In actual scenarios, it was very difficult for the energy density of lithium batteries to go over 300 Watt-hour per kilogram. It could only be considered a “semi high energy battery.” Due to its technical complexity and some issues in safety and production costs, lithium batteries had not been widely promoted until the 21st century where they gradually became the mainstream. The development paths for batteries were in abundance. There were organizations working on future batteries with higher energy density, longer lifespan, and better safety.

For example, metal-air batteries. The representative for this type of battery was the zinc-air battery. The specific energy of a zinc-air battery was 4-6 times that of a lead-acid battery, and one time larger than a lithium-ion battery. Electric vehicles powered by such batteries could reach travel distances of 400 kilometers. The process technology for zinc-air batteries was simple and low cost. Its mass production cost was approximately 300 to 500 dollars per Kilovolt-Ampere Hour, even cheaper than lead-acid batteries. Moreover, the battery was safe and reliable. Even if the battery’s exterior was exposed to open fire, short circuit, punctures, or impacts, it would not burn off or explode.

But even with so many advantages, there were some fatal drawbacks for zinc-air batteries. Its cost of usage was relatively higher, and it had a complicated charging process. It had a short practical lifespan at about one to two years. It was not caused by the poor performance of the battery’s electrochemical cell, but the battery structure itself. The batch processing technology was not mature enough. The production of catalytic membrane and Teflon required semi-mechanical operations which had manual factors that would lead to deviations in battery performance. Hence, it was still rather difficult for metal-air batteries to be widely used.

Besides, there were also solid-state batteries, nanocrystalline lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells… and a few dozen types of batteries. Some declared that they attained energy densities of 500 Watt-hour per kilogram while some claimed that they went over 800. There were even some that broke through 1,000. People were hyped up as if they saw hope for the dawn of the high energy battery era.

However… it was just a white elephant. Lab performance was not equivalent to actual performance. Lab products might not become market products. The battery with the highest energy density attainable from the market at current times was a ternary battery using positive electrodes made with ternary polymer material combined with nickel cobalt manganese (Li(NiCoMn)O2). For this type of battery, a factory within the Z nation incorporated it with graphene technology, which boosted the battery’s energy density of 500Watt-hour per kilogram, the highest level in the world. During that time, it caused a worldwide sensation as it was deemed the dawn of an era of new energy.

But it might still be too early to be happy. The energy density of gasoline was a whopping 12000 Watt-hour per kilogram, while the best ternary battery only had an energy density of 4.58% that of gasoline, which was less than one-twentieth. The technology for ternary batteries was still miles away from replacing traditional energy sources. What people were seeing was merely a glimpse of hope.

The success of Xing Hai Technologies’”High Energy 1″ batteries, on the other hand, immediately actualized this hope. Within the research center, Zhao Chiang, the person in charge of this project, said excitedly, “Mr. Chen, we have made an astonishing leap in battery technology! Firstly, our ‘High Energy 1’ is not a traditional liquid or semi-solid battery, it’s a complete solid-state battery! A complete solid-state battery is the safest. It is shockproof, has high-temperature resistance, good stability, and can sustain more charging instances compared to other batteries. For example, the best ternary battery can be charged 1,500 times. After 800 instances, the battery’s capacity will fall to 80%. Our ‘High Energy 1’ can be charged 10,000 times. Only after 5,000 charge-discharge cycles will our battery’s capacity fall to around 80%. Moreover, the ‘High Energy 1’ battery is integrated with the most advanced graphene fast-charging technology. For instance, this 10,000 Milli-Amp-Hour battery that I’m holding. It supports fast-charging technology up to 100 watts. In just about six to ten minutes, this battery will be fully recharged, and you won’t have to worry about the battery overheating.” Zhao Chiang continued while holding the small battery, “For its energy density, as the battery is using a whole new nano-polymer material as its positive electrode, we measured it to be at 1,500 Watt-hour per kilogram. This is six to seven times that of normal batteries! Equivalent to one-eighth of gasoline. In practical usage, the energy utilization efficiency of gasoline in generators could at most reach 40%, commonly above 30%. While for batteries, its efficiency is generally above 90%. Therefore, from the perspective of energy utilization efficiency, the actual performance of our ‘High Energy 1’ battery is equal to a third of gasoline.”

One-third of gasoline! This could be described as fairly incredible. The potential of electric vehicles instantly surpassed traditional fuel vehicles. Compared to the engine of a fuel-driven car, the engine structure of an electric car was simpler, lighter, and was spared from many additional mechanical structures, which correspondingly reduced the total mass of the vehicle up to a hundred kilograms. Discarding additional complex transmission structures such as gearboxes, the vehicle’s overall mass reduction would be above 200 kilograms. Of course, in order to achieve the same traveling distance as fuel cars, the number of battery packs incorporated would certainly increase. In terms of a 50-kilogram gasoline tank, the car would need 150 kilograms of ‘High Energy 1’ batteries for it to attain similar traveling distance.

Even so, electric cars using the ‘High Energy 1’ batteries would still be more than a hundred kilograms lighter! Hence, its traveling performance would only be better. Due to the most advanced fast-charging technology, the large volume of batteries would be fully recharged within 30 to 60 minutes. The waiting time would not be exceptionally long. Pairing this with the 10-thousand charging instances and the superlative safety it provided… At least within the car industry, considering environmental protection, user-friendliness, travel distance, safety, cost, and other aspects comprehensively, people could hardly find a reason to reject electric cars with the advent of the “High Energy 1” battery.

Moreover, once these batteries were launched, it was hard to imagine how big of an impact it would cause. It would trigger a global turmoil in insurmountable fields and would inevitably expose Xing Hai Technologies to immense pressure. Therefore, the question presented before Chen Jin was: should he detonate this blockbuster?