Inside the factory, only the scale of the machines and certain operations carried out by hand by the operators remind the visitor that they are walking on a pilot line. It should soon be joined by a little sister: a 0.25 gigawatt hour (GWh) line must be erected to prepare for large-scale industrialization. Blue Solutions is still working on the development of its next fourth generation battery. The manufacturer is already preparing to mass produce it from 2029 in what should be the fifth French gigafactory, in the Mulhouse area (Haut-Rhin). Representing an investment of 2.2 billion euros, the future factory should ultimately offer 1,500 jobs for an annual production capacity of 25 GWh – enough to supply the equivalent of 250,000 cars with batteries.
These are the foundations laid, but there is still work to be done. After the announcement, Blue Solutions does not hide the fact that the game is far from won: in the world of solids, there are a plethora of competitors and you have to be assertive “on its two legs: the product and the process”, estimates Richard Bouveret, its CEO. An opinion shared by experts, according to which all-solid technology will not be found in our cars tomorrow, despite the promises of certain manufacturers. Manufacturers see this as improved safety (the absence of gel and flammable liquid in the electrolyte limits the risk of thermal runaway) and a key argument for mobility: greater autonomy which would make it possible to travel long, even very long distances. long distances. To make these promises a reality, it will be necessary to reduce the cost of production through economies of scale.
No commercialization before 2040
“Solid-state batteries won’t be commercialized for years,” confirms Varnika Agarwal, an analyst at Rho Motion. According to forecasts from the Avicenne Energy firm, they should represent a maximum of 12% of demand in 2035 and initially integrate premium vehicles. This is the objective of Blue Solutions, which has signed co-development agreements with three manufacturers, including BMW. “On segment A (small city dwellers, editor’s note), it won’t be before 2040, predicts Richard Bouveret. Because in the meantime the lithium-ion battery will be hyper-optimized and inexpensive.” Faced with other mature lithium-ion technologies, solid-state remains an ideal, which some manufacturers are actively pursuing.
Like many other companies in the sector (CATL, Samsung SDI, SK On, Factorial, Solid Power, QuantumScape…), Blue Solutions has defined its roadmap. But the development of a solid electrolyte is a source of multiple obstacles: operation at ambient temperature (and not at 80°C, as on Bolloré buses), perfect adhesion of the electrolyte to the interfaces with the anodes and cathodes for good conductivity, repeated swelling of cells during charges, growth of lithium dendrites… Not to mention the challenges of integrating different chemistries at the cathode: nickel-manganese-cobalt? Lithium-iron-phosphate? Lithium-manganese-iron-phosphate? The real break is on the anode side: “The whole point of the solid electrolyte is to allow the use of lithium metal for the anode, a material which offers much better energy density to the battery,” explains Patrice Simon, professor of materials sciences at Toulouse III University (read the interview above).
An environment that remains very secret
In a very secretive environment where technological choices are multiple and where R&D is mainly carried out internally, it is difficult to know which player will succeed in establishing itself. “Everyone says they have the best technology in the world, but it’s too early to know,” deciphers Shmuel De-Leon, a recognized specialist in the sector. Are the most discreet the furthest ahead? CATL, the battery market leader, does not promote its research in this area, but rumors suggest a prototype in 2027. Others are also running around Samsung SDI, which operates a pilot line in Korea. And then, there is the Taiwanese ProLogium, whose technology is currently called semi-solid, the electrolyte still containing 10% liquid. After the inauguration of its pilot line in Taiwan at the start of the year, this player intends to build its gigafactory in Dunkirk (North) as soon as the building permit is obtained. The director of the future factory, Calvin Hsieh, hopes to get the green light in mid-December. Objective: start of production in 2027. “ProLogium could be among the first in Europe to industrialize this technology,” observes the General Directorate of Enterprises in Bercy, hopes to put France on the map of all-solids producers. The State therefore supports the ProLogium project, estimated at 5.2 billion euros, with an envelope which could go up to 1.5 billion euros.
But both ProLogium and Blue Solutions know: building a gigafactory is one thing, running it is another. “The real difficulty for battery innovators is the industrial question: how to move from the laboratory to the factory and manufacture products that can be integrated into car chassis,” comments Richard Bouveret. Prudence pushes this former equipment manufacturer ZF and Valeo to bet, for the future Blue Solutions factory, on modest-sized production blocks (2.5 GWh), and not on large production lines, by definition difficult to control. quickly.
You are reading an article from L’Usine Nouvelle 3737 – December 2024
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Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
