China to invest $820 mln in cutting-edge battery tech, sources say

China is planning to invest around 6 billion yuan ($820 million), the biggest amount of its kind, to encourage the research and development of all-solid-state batteries, a cutting-edge battery technology at the heart of the next generation of electric vehicles, industrial sources told China Daily.

Battery makers such as Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd and Beijing Welion New Energy Technology, as well as automakers including BYD, FAW Group, SAIC Motor and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, will be supported to focus on the R&D of seven projects related to the disruptive tech, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

Industry analysts believed that a more profound impact will be that the investment will spur a "catfish" effect and drive companies and industry chains to spend more on the frontier tech. It is expected to further drive a trillion yuan-level market and better contribute to a global-wide green transformation and sustainable economic growth.

Several sources close to the matter said the plan was launched earlier this year. Capable companies will be supported to focus on the R&D of eight to nine projects at the beginning, related to major technical routes of all-solid-state batteries, which include polymer-based and sulfide-based batteries, as well as other suitable technologies, two of the sources said.

But the final number of projects might come down to seven, another separate source said to China Daily, adding that CATL, the world's largest EV battery manufacturer which disclosed in April the mass production of all-solid-state batteries in small quantities in 2027, is believed to have obtained support from two of the final seven projects.

All of the sources said that leading battery companies have all applied to participate in such a major project but the initial selection process was "very strict" to avoid indiscriminate results.

All-solid-state batteries, which boast higher theoretical energy density and safety, and low cost than the widely-used lithium-ion batteries in EVs, are considered by many countries as a potentially game-changing technology. Many leading countries have already invested a lot in the tech.

In fact, since the second quarter of this year, the development of all-solid-state batteries has been accelerated in China with a batch of automakers and battery firms intensively announcing progress on the all-solid-state batteries.

Battery maker Sunwoda told China Daily that it has finished the R&D of its all-solid-state batteries with an energy density of more than 400Wh/kg, and plans to mass produce them by 2026, with an estimated production capacity of 1Gwh. This is also the first time that the company disclosed the momentum of all-solid-state batteries.

Gotion High-Tech Co Ltd, another leading EV battery maker, also disclosed to China Daily that it aims to manufacture all-solid-state batteries in small quantities by 2027 and mass produce them by 2030.

Chinese automaker SAIC Motor said on Friday that it will mass produce all-solid-state batteries by 2026 after another vehicle maker GAC Aion's Hyper brand said in April that it has finished R&D on all-solid-state batteries that will be first used in Hyper car models in 2026.