China is reportedly planning to earmark CNY 6 billion ($828 million) to support the research and development of all-solid-state batteries.

Citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter, reports both in China and abroad say the investment program is led by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Six leading Chinese companies in the EV battery industry chain are said to be key recipients of the funds. These are battery CATL, BYD, FAW, SAIC, Geely, and Welion.

The project would be divided into seven major sections, focusing on different technical routes such as polymers and sulphides, Kallanish understands. As the ministries have not publicly confirmed the information, details remain unclear. 

“If the state provides funding to automakers and battery companies to encourage the development of all-solid-state batteries, the process of solid-state batteries from laboratory to mass production applications may be accelerated, which will prioritise driving the order demand of upstream equipment manufacturers,” comments CITIC Securities. “At present, the leading domestic lithium battery equipment manufacturers are actively developing solid-state battery equipment in cooperation with downstream companies to promote the industrialisation of solid-state batteries, and are expected to maintain their leading edge in the era of solid-state batteries. With policy support, the solid-state battery industry chain may develop rapidly.”

Solid-state batteries are generally divided into three forms: semi-solid (liquid content 5-10 weight percentage), quasi-solid (liquid content 0-5 wt%) and full solid (liquid content 0 wt%).

Based on the research and analysis of solid-state battery technology routes and cost reduction paths, battery research institute EVTank predicts that global solid-state battery shipments will reach 614.1 gigawatt-hours by 2030, and the penetration rate in the overall lithium battery is expected to be around 10%. By then, the global market size (mainly of semi-solid-state batteries) is set to exceed CNY 250 billion.

In January, China’s major battery manufacturers launched an all-solid-state collaborative innovation platform seeking to advance the Chinese lead towards commercialisation. These were BYD, CALB, CATL, EVE Energy and Gotion High-tech.