Time flies, and the white horse flies. Although it's a bit heartbreaking, there are only a handful of time left in 2017, which makes people wonder where the time has gone. At the beginning of the year, we were still discussing the cause of the note7 explosion announced by Samsung. In a blink of an eye, the topic shifted to the embarrassing incident of the iPhone 8 battery burst released in the fall; just as lithium battery companies were looking forward to the sharp drop in the price of lithium carbonate at the beginning of the year, a sudden wave came in October. The skyrocketing increase has made lithium battery companies "blue thin mushrooms"... In 2017, events of all sizes in the lithium battery industry occurred every day. According to the depth of the incident, the editor counted the top ten events in the lithium battery industry.

1. Apple iPhone8 battery burst incident

iPhone8 can be called Apple's most embarrassing mobile phone. The first sale was cold, and the long queues of purchases in previous years were swept away. On Apple's official website, the "pre-sale" on the iPhone 8 page has also become a "purchase." This is not the most embarrassing. What makes Apple "embarrassed" may be the battery incident.

On September 28, shortly after the release of the iPhone 8 series, a Taiwanese user’s iPhone 8 Plus was found to be cracked from the inside after charging the iPhone 8 Plus. The battery swelled for unknown reasons, and the crack was about 0.5 cm, but the appearance was not damaged. , And did not hear any cracking sound;

In Japan, there are also iPhone 8 Plus users who said on Twitter that the screen of the newly bought mobile phone is suspected to be protruding due to the expansion of the battery.

On October 1, a user from Toronto, Canada, Anthony Wu (Anthony Wu) said that the display of the new iPhone 8 Plus he bought broke after being unpacked, and he had to return the phone the next day. The reason for the cracking of the mobile phone may be related to the defective battery inside, because its battery swelled.

In addition, photos released by iRepair, a repair shop for iPhone, iPad and Mac in Greece, also show that there are photos of cracked displays on the iPhone 8 Plus. During the National Day, the same situation occurred in the mainland. Apple users in Guangzhou found that the panel was cracked after they bought it and opened the box.

Some time ago, it broke out that Apple users smoked while charging the iPhone, and finally the machine burned down.

So far, Japan, China, Greece, Canada, the United States and other countries have at least 10 such incidents on the iPhone 8 series. Although the severity is not as serious as last year’s Samsung Note 7, they have also caused Apple’s brand image. Had a serious impact.

The iPhone 8 battery incident made Apple's sales worse, and its price once fell below 5,000 yuan. Why does the iPhone 8 have a swollen battery? It is reported that the iPhone 8 battery problem may be due to defects in some batteries. There is also news that the iPhone 8 battery problem may be caused by a manufacturing defect. In this regard, Apple has confirmed the accident, whether the battery supplier should be back for this, has not yet given an answer. In any case, the editor believes that the safety of lithium batteries should really be taken seriously, even if the technology giants, it may cause users to lose confidence. Lessons from the past, the teacher of the future. Regarding battery incidents, Samsung’s attitude and methods for troubleshooting may be a case study.

2. Samsung announced the cause of the Note 7 explosion, SDI is not better

Last year’s Samsung note7 explosion is unforgettable. After Samsung’s “explosive door”, Samsung actively sought out the cause, announced the cause more than three months after announcing the shutdown, and took extreme measures to deal with battery safety.

On January 23, 2017, more than three months after the Note7 was announced to stop production, Samsung finally officially announced the cause of the Note7 spontaneous combustion at 9 o’clock today, Beijing time. DJ Koh, President of Samsung Electronics’ Wireless Division, said that the analysis results showed The burning accident is mainly caused by the compression of the negative plate, and other factors such as the wrong position of the negative terminal have also increased the possibility of accidents.

Since then, Samsung has formulated "8 battery safety inspection measures", adopted a "multi-layer safety measure agreement" in the product planning stage, and established a "parts professional team". At the same time, Samsung has also established a team of expert consultants from academia and industry To objectively assess security issues.

In addition, Samsung also commissioned industry-leading third-party organizations such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Exponent Laboratories, and TUV Rheinland Group to conduct an objective, impartial, and independent investigation into the possibility of the Galaxy Note7 incident.

When the Note 7 "explosive door" becomes a thing of the past, then the question is: Is Samsung's battery supplier SDI okay? Samsung SDI once attracted public attention due to the Samsung Note7 battery incident, and the latest iPhone 8 explosion was also suspected of being connected to the SDI battery.

Although Samsung’s problem phones are very unpleasant, but objectively speaking, Samsung’s attitude and way of solving problems has shown a very responsible attitude. The explosion of Samsung note7 and Apple's new mobile phone are suspected, which put Samsung's battery supplier SDI under pressure from public opinion. In addition to the frequent blows to the mobile phone battery business, Samsung SDI's domestic development of power battery business in recent years is not optimistic. This year, Samsung Tianjin Battery is even more insolvent, and its operating performance is not optimistic. In addition to the continuous decline in operating performance, Samsung’s Tianjin Battery Factory also suffered a fire this year. Its products have not yet been able to enter the field of new energy vehicles, enjoying supporting policy subsidies, and the development of the domestic market is limited. For Samsung SDI, 2017 was not a good year either.

3. The "Double Points" policy was released, causing a major earthquake in the industry

On September 28, 2017, the much-anticipated "Measures for the Parallel Management of Average Fuel Consumption of Passenger Vehicle Companies and New Energy Vehicle Credits" was officially released. The measures provide for the annual production or import volume of traditional energy passenger vehicles less than 30,000. Passenger car companies do not set new energy vehicle points ratio requirements; those with more than 30,000 vehicles will set new energy vehicle points ratio requirements from 2019. In 2019 and 2020, the new energy vehicle points ratio requirements are 10% and 12% respectively. The new energy vehicle point ratio requirements for 2021 and later years will be separately announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The formulation of the "Measures" is an inherent requirement for promoting the development of the energy-saving and new energy automobile industry, and an urgent need to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council.

The formulation of the "Measures" mainly followed the following ideas: First, coordinated advancement, and at the same time set up two points for enterprise average fuel consumption and new energy vehicles to achieve the two goals of energy saving and consumption reduction and promoting the development of new energy vehicles. The second is market-oriented, the establishment of a point trading mechanism, the enterprise independently determines the compensation method for negative points, and the government mainly plays the role of top-level design, supervision and management. The third is equal treatment and the implementation of unified points accounting rules.

The main contents of the "Measures" include establishing a point accounting system and point management platform; clarifying points accounting methods; conditionally relaxing the fuel consumption requirements of small-scale enterprises; setting up thresholds for new energy vehicle points ratio requirements; implementing point parallel management; Good supervision and management system.

Although the previous support policy system for the development of new energy vehicles has been perfected, it is still based on encouragement, and the attitude is not firm. The double points policy shows that China has put forward the hard requirements for the development of new energy vehicles for energy conservation and emission reduction. That is, the state requires automakers to produce new energy vehicles in the form of regulations and laws. This is definitely the biggest good news for the development of new energy vehicles. Electricity and new energy points are basically proportional, and micro-vehicles have a slight advantage; at the same time, considering the relationship between the cost of the whole vehicle and the ratio of points, small and micro long-endurance vehicles are the models that benefit the most. The implementation of the double points policy will greatly enrich the number of new energy vehicles and usher in a wave of new energy vehicle development peaks.

Fourth, Ningde era IPO valuation is extremely high, becoming the first nouveau riche

On November 10, the website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission released the prospectus (pre-disclosure document) for the initial public offering of Ningde Times New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. on the Growth Enterprise Market.

As soon as the news of the Ningde era's sprint IPO came out, it caused heated discussions in the market, and the power battery market made a comeback. With the rapid development of new energy vehicles in my country, the demand for power batteries is also increasing. This company airborne the stock market with the status of "little giant" and "Huawei in the industry", while surrounding the remarks that "valuation will reach 130 billion and market share will exceed BYD". Experts believe that CATL is expected to become the largest IPO financing case among non-state-owned enterprises, and it will undoubtedly change the global competitive landscape of power batteries.

Behind this new star enterprise in the Ningde era, big names gather. Listed companies such as Dongfeng Motor, SAIC Motor, Zoomlion, Sevenwolves are all shareholders behind them. The market exclaimed that almost half of the automobile circle sat at the luxurious table of this capital feast.

Ningde Times was established in Ningde, Fujian in 2011. Its main business is power batteries for new energy vehicles, and its performance is very impressive. Data show that in 2014, 2015, 2016 and January-June 2017, CATL’s operating income was 867 million yuan, 5.703 billion yuan, 14.879 billion yuan, and 6.24 billion yuan, respectively; the net profits attributable to shareholders of the parent company were respectively It is 54 million yuan, 931 million yuan, 3.022 billion yuan, and 1.857 billion yuan.

The prospectus shows that during the reporting period, CATL’s main revenue came from the sales of power battery systems, energy storage systems and pool materials. Among them, the sales revenue of power battery system was 715 million yuan, 4.98 billion yuan, 13.98 billion yuan and 5.34 billion yuan, accounting for 94.17%, 87.98%, 95.55% and 87.14% of the main business revenue, respectively. The market has already felt it. The rapid growth of the power battery industry.

According to disclosures, CATL’s issuance of shares does not exceed 217 million shares, accounting for no less than 10% of the total equity after the issuance, all of which are new shares. The company's fund-raising projects include: Ningde Times Hubei Lithium-ion Power Battery Production Base Project and Ningde Times Power and Energy Storage Battery R&D Project. It is planned to use raised funds to invest 13.12 billion yuan.

According to market speculation, CATL expects the issue price to be around 60 yuan per share, and its valuation has exceeded 130 billion yuan.

Since the announcement of the listing news, CATL has always been the focus of the market. The new energy vehicle market drives upstream market demand. Although Panasonic now ranks first in the global power battery market, once the leading Chinese battery companies open up cooperation with international automobile companies, it may challenge Panasonic's leading position, and the future prospects are promising. As an emerging industry, the industry’s technology update speed is relatively fast, but the development direction is uncertain. Therefore, the breakthrough progress of the core technology of power battery in the future will have a vital impact on the development of the enterprise. If the relevant technology is not grasped in time, it will Market position and profitability have a huge impact.

V. Volkswagen spends 50 billion euros in cooperation to build a power battery plant

On September 12, 2017, Volkswagen CEO Mullen announced the "Roadmap E" plan at the Volkswagen Night at the Frankfurt Motor Show. He said that Volkswagen will once again upgrade its strategy, plan to develop electric vehicles on a large scale, and fully realize electrification in 2030, and will invest 50 billion euros in electric vehicle batteries and 20 billion euros in electric vehicles.

Mullen said: "We have planned the next generation of electric vehicle batteries: solid-state batteries with a mileage of more than 1,000 kilometers." It is understood that Mullen announced an investment of 50 billion euros in electric vehicle batteries to be used in China, Europe and North America to find, Develop long-term strategic partners.

Volkswagen plans to have electric versions of all models by 2030, and by 2025 at the latest, the installed capacity of Volkswagen's electric vehicles will exceed 150GWh. This means that cooperation between Volkswagen and battery manufacturers is an inevitable choice. And Mueller also said that he would look for partners on a global scale. my country's powerful battery manufacturers CATL and BYD have greater opportunities.

Earlier, foreign media reported that Volkswagen plans to invest in its factories around the world, amounting to 22.8 billion euros. Among them, Volkswagen will invest about 1 billion euros in its Zwickau plant to turn it into a pure plant. The Volkswagen Group previously announced that its Zwickau plant is undergoing renovation to prepare for the production of the first batch of electric vehicles on the MEB (Electric Vehicle Modular Platform) platform in 2020.

2017, for the public, or the first year of opening new energy. A huge investment of 50 billion euros to build a power battery plant may be just the beginning. Volkswagen has announced that the Volkswagen Golf electric version, which will be put into production in China in 2018, will use batteries from the Ningde era. This time Volkswagen will build a power battery factory to select partners, and the Ningde era may be selected. If BYD also becomes a partner of Volkswagen, it means that BYD will enter the ranks of supplying other car companies for the first time, and it will surely bring new opportunities to the split battery business. In the future, the market may present a situation where a number of giant companies are advancing side by side. According to the editor, my country accounts for 198 of the world's top 500 companies, which shows that Chinese companies will participate more in the lithium battery market.

VI. BYD and Guoxuan High-tech Joint Venture Company

On August 30, 2017, Guoxuan Hi-Tech issued an announcement stating that the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Hefei Guoxuan Hi-Tech Power Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Hefei Guoxuan) intends to cooperate with China Metallurgical Science and Industry Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as China Metallurgical Group). , BYD, Tangshan Caofeidian Development Investment Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Caofeidian Development) jointly established a new joint venture company, mainly engaged in the ternary cathode material precursor (hereinafter referred to as the ternary precursor) project.

The announcement shows that the registered capital of the new joint venture is 937 million yuan, of which China Metallurgical Group invested 478 million yuan, accounting for 51% of the equity; Hefei Guoxuan accounted for 30%, BYD accounted for 10%, and Caofeidian Development accounted for 9%. After the establishment of the new company, it will invest in the construction and operation of the ternary precursor project.

It is understood that it mainly involves three precious metals, nickel, cobalt and manganese. The price of cobalt has soared from more than 100,000 yuan per ton to the current 400,000 yuan per ton in recent years, which is very tight.

According to the content of the agreement, under the same conditions, each shareholder has the right of first refusal to purchase the products of the new joint venture. Among the shareholders, only Hefei Guoxuan and BYD are involved in the power battery business, which means that in the future, the products of the new joint venture will be mainly supplied to Guoxuan Hi-Tech and BYD.

In 2017, it is a new trend to join forces to share the lithium battery market. In such a large and highly dependent industrial chain, it may be more difficult for one family to occupy a place in this market and maintain its long-term prosperity. From the successful partnership between BYD and Guoxuan Hi-Tech, to the strategic partnership between Zhidou and Dofluoro, it can be seen that car companies and upstream lithium battery companies seem to have gradually reached a consensus: only keep a group for warmth and learn from each other’s weaknesses. In order to share the "cake" in this emerging market. From 2017, a new trend of industrial cooperation started.

7. The price of lithium carbonate continues to rise, and the enterprise "blue thin shiitake mushrooms"

On July 18, the domestic battery-grade high-end lithium carbonate price was reported at 142,000 yuan per ton, a single day increase of 5%, an increase of 7% from last week, a new high since August last year. Since October, the price of lithium carbonate has just stabilized, and the price increase window has been opened again. The reason is that there is a serious imbalance between the supply and demand of lithium carbonate.