He Xiaopeng is waiting, Musk is worried, battery companies have invested 350 billion in half a year and still face a 40% capacity gap

With the release of the delisting timetable for fuel vehicles in various countries and the continuous deepening of the development of new energy vehicles, the power batteries, which are the core of electric vehicles, are beginning to have a production capacity gap.

The "pursuit" of power batteries by new energy vehicle companies has also fueled the hot capital market. The share price of power battery company CATL has continued to rise, and its total market value has exceeded 1.4 trillion in one fell swoop.

The "battery shortage" has concerned new energy vehicle companies. Not long ago, the CEO of Xiaopeng Motors spent a week at CATL just to get a battery order; Tesla CEO Musk has expressed concerns about battery supply difficulties more than once, and said he would take as many as the suppliers could provide.

At a recent shareholders' meeting, Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, said that customers' constant urging for delivery has become a happy trouble. In addition to the recognition of the new energy vehicle route, the shortage of production capacity is also one of the reasons why CATL's price-to-earnings ratio exceeds 200.

According to data released by SNE Research, a global new energy market research organization, the global automotive industry's demand for power batteries is expected to reach 406GWh by 2023, but the supply of power batteries is expected to be 335GWh, a gap of 18%. By 2025, this gap will further expand to 40%.

In order to cope with the "battery shortage" caused by the accelerating pace of new energy vehicles at home and abroad, domestic power battery vehicles have also accelerated investment and expanded production. Data shows that in the first half of this year alone, domestic power battery companies have carried out 57 related investment projects with a total investment plan of more than 350 billion yuan.

At the same time, new energy-related companies are also continuously increasing their research and development of solid-state batteries.

CATL previously revealed that it will release a solid-state battery called "sodium ion" in July; NIO also stated that its independently developed solid-state battery is expected to be commercialized by the end of 2022; LG Chem plans to commercialize all-solid-state batteries between 2025 and 2027; Panasonic, Volkswagen, and BMW's solid-state battery electric vehicles will all be available around 2025.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.