Aluminum-plastic film is the last "a city pool" in the process of China's power battery localization, but also one of the power battery "Three Musketeers" of the soft pack battery is the most distinctive key materials. Under the background of national policy tilted to high energy density batteries, the market penetration rate of soft pack batteries is increasing, and the demand for aluminum-plastic film is also rapidly increasing.

However, at present, the domestic aluminum composite film market is a large area of "fall", the core technology is subject to Japan and South Korea, the global power battery "boss" was pinched throat and look up to others, become the industry "can not afford to die! ".

"Unbearable Grief"

With more and more car companies and battery manufacturers adopting the soft pack technology route, the aluminum-plastic film market has shown explosive growth. Data shows that in 2017, Chinali-ion batteryAluminum-plastic film demand grew 47% year-on-year, it is expected that the next five years the demand for soft pack batteries and aluminum-plastic film will grow from 26GWh and 120 million square meters, respectively, to 94GWh and 280 million square meters, by 2030 China's demand for power batteries will reach 459GWh, of which the penetration rate of the soft pack batteries will reach 45%, and aluminum-plastic film usage will also increase to 830 million square meters.

Although China's aluminum composite film market demand is huge, but it is "heartbreaking" is that China's aluminum composite film domestic rate of less than 10%, and mainly concentrated in the field of consumer 3C lithium batteries. Global aluminum composite film market and technology has been monopolized by Japan and South Korea and a handful of enterprises, including Japan Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP), Showa Denko, Japan, Japan Toppan Printing Co. The aluminum-plastic film produced by Japan Printing Co.

According to BatteryChina.com, China's high-end aluminum composite film is highly dependent on imports, the domestic market is monopolized by Japanese and South Korean companies, the price of aluminum composite film remains high, and the gross profit margin is as high as 60-80%. For digital aluminum composite film, some domestic enterprises can be produced; and in the field of power batteries, in 2017, the new energy automobile policy subsidies have been substantially regressed, the terminal cost reduction pressure is further transferred to the power battery and other manufacturers, the pressure of the battery link has intensified. At present, the cost of aluminum-plastic film accounts for about 15% of the cost of flexible pack batteries, and the price difference between domestic and foreign products is about 20% to 30%. Domestic lithium battery manufacturers are urgently required to reduce the cost of raw materials for lithium batteries, so the aluminum-plastic film to achieve import substitution, the demand for localization is becoming increasingly prominent.

"A miss is as good as a mile."

At present, China has become the world's largest power battery market, has emerged as a world-class battery enterprise giants, technical strength is not what it used to be, but why the aluminum-plastic film technology is slow to break through? Battery China Network learned that the aluminum-plastic film consists of three layers of materials: the outer barrier layer, the permeability barrier layer and the inner layer, and its index requirements are many, including extremely high barrier, good cold press molding, puncture resistance, electrolyte stability, insulation, etc., which is the most critical, the highest technical barriers to the material in the soft pack battery.

Industry professionals said that the current performance of China's aluminum composite film products, the main problem is the electrolyte resistance and depth of charge is not pass. Domestic aluminum composite film depth of charge in 5mm or so, while foreign countries can reach 8mm, some even up to 12mm; thickness, the domestic aluminum composite film can only do the thinnest 70μm, while Japan's aluminum composite film can do the thinnest 40μm. Especially the reaction conditions and precision control, the manufacture of this high-precision materials, often "a tiny bit worse than a thousand li "The difficulty of process control is reflected in the millimeter.

From the perspective of product performance, China's aluminum composite film products and foreign products there are gaps in: aluminum foil surface treatment process is backward, pollution; aluminum foil water treatment will produce "hydrogen embrittlement", resulting in aluminum composite film poor resistance to dismantling; aluminum foil surface stiffness is not enough, the yield rate is poor; polypropylene and high thermal conductivity of the surface of the aluminum foil is easy to curl, resulting in laminar crystallization; poor domestic adhesive formulation process is prone to layered peeling problems. Crystallization; the domestic adhesive formula process is poor, prone to delamination and peeling problems.

"Know the shame, hear the profit, and fight for it."

"Knowing the shame, hearing the benefits and competing for the first." Although there are huge technical obstacles, but in the face of the dismal market share, as well as huge market opportunities, aluminum composite film industry is bound to move towards comprehensive localization. Battery China learned that domestic enterprises to achieve the localization of aluminum composite film mainly through the endogenous independent research and development and extension of mergers and acquisitions of two ways. The current domestic aluminum composite film products in the performance and quality of foreign high-end products there is still a gap, but compared with the cost-effective and sales advantages, and in the continuous improvement of technology and process.

China Battery Network learned that the domestic Sinews Technology has quickly realized the transition to domestic by acquiring the mature aluminum-plastic film assets of Japan Toppan Printing Co.Soft pack power batteryThe introduction of enterprises, the first to supply power battery factories such as VuNeng Technology and Tianjin Jiewei, forming a first-mover advantage. Through independent research and development, TD Optical has become one of the very few domestic enterprises capable of mass production of aluminum-plastic film, and in fiscal year 2017, it has obtained orders from more than 30 consumer lithium battery enterprises, and power battery customers are in the process of certification. Mingguan new materials in 2017 aluminum plastic film production capacity of 30 million square meters, has signed a number of power battery companies with Tianjin new energy, lithium power supply and other medium- and long-term cooperation agreements.

In addition, Zijiang enterprise, PuTaiLai and other enterprises also through independent research and development gradually enter the field of consumer lithium battery and get orders, it is reported, Shanghai Enjie and other enterprises are planning the construction of aluminum-plastic film project.

China Battery Network believes that, as one of the key materials for the encapsulation of soft pack batteries, with a large number of domestic soft pack batteries installed, the huge market demand for aluminum-plastic film will bring a rare opportunity for the development of domestic aluminum-plastic film enterprises. As domestic enterprises continue to make technological breakthroughs, product quality is gradually recognized by the battery business, the domestic aluminum composite film will break the foreign monopoly, "regain lost ground", ushering in the development of a new situation.