- Hybrid solid-liquid batteries will serve as the mainstream technology before all-solid-state batteries achieve mass production, said Svolt's CEO.
- Svolt expects this year to mark the beginning of large-scale commercialization for hybrid solid-liquid batteries.
Svolt Energy plans to mass-produce hybrid solid-liquid batteries by this September, with costs expected to be on par with traditional liquid lithium-ion batteries.
Yang Hongxin, Svolt's chairman and CEO, revealed the plan in a video posted on Weibo on Tuesday, adding that the company's hybrid solid-liquid batteries offer significantly improved safety.
The commercialization of all-solid-state batteries still faces a very long road, and until that technology achieves large-scale mass production, hybrid solid-liquid batteries will serve as the mainstream route, Yang said.
2026 will be the inaugural year hybrid solid-liquid batteries are widely adopted, and the technology will see large-scale market rollout, he added.
Under the company's plan, multiple vehicle models will be equipped with these new hybrid solid-liquid batteries by the end of September. By then, the 100 kWh battery version will also achieve large-scale mass production.
Hybrid solid-liquid batteries are what have frequently been referred to as semi-solid-state batteries in recent years. In China, the terminology for such batteries has been standardized as hybrid solid-liquid batteries to avoid public confusion with all-solid-state batteries.
Hybrid solid-liquid batteries refer to cells that use both liquid and solid electrolytes to transfer ions between the cathode and anode. In contrast, all-solid-state batteries rely entirely on solid electrolytes for ion transfer.
Currently, all-solid-state batteries are viewed as having many technical challenges yet to be resolved. Battery giants including CATL (HKEX: 3750) and BYD (HKEX: 1211) are targeting 2027 to begin small-batch production of all-solid-state batteries.
Svolt Energy was originally the power battery division of GWM (HKEX: 2333) and began its power battery research and development in 2012.
It was spun off from GWM in February 2018 to focus on next-generation battery materials, cells, modules, packs, battery management systems (BMS), and energy storage technologies.
Svolt's battery installations in China stood at 1.14 GWh in April, capturing a 1.83% market share and ranking tenth, according to data from the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).
CATL ranked first with a 46.64% market share, while BYD came in second with 16.83%.
