Lead-acid battery industry overview

Main characteristics and production process of lead-acid battery

A lead-acid battery (VRLA) is a battery whose electrodes are mainly made of lead and its oxides, and the electrolyte is a sulfuric acid solution.

The production process of lead-acid batteries will be different for different products. Taking a typical lead-acid battery as an example, it is mainly composed of battery tank, battery cover, positive and negative plates, dilute sulfuric acid electrolyte, separator and accessories. And lead products account for 60-70% of the production cost of lead-acid batteries. The production process includes the steps of lead powder manufacturing, grid casting, electrode plate manufacturing, electrode plate formation and assembly.

The use of lead-acid batteries is divided

Lead-acid batteries are currently the largest and most widely used batteries in chemical batteries. According to the structure and use of lead-acid batteries, batteries can be divided into four main categories: 1. Lead-acid batteries for starting; 2. Lead-acid batteries for power; 3. Fixed VRLA batteries; 4. Others Class, including small valve-regulated sealed lead-acid batteries, lead-acid batteries for miner's lamps, etc.

Among them, starter batteries are batteries mainly used in automobiles, motorcycles, fuel engine starting, ignition and lighting; power batteries are mainly used in electric bicycles, electric special vehicles (electric tour cars, golf cars, patrol cars, forklifts, etc.), low-speed Electric vehicles such as electric passenger cars and hybrid electric vehicles are used as power; stationary batteries are mainly used in communication backup power sources, solar power generation equipment, wind turbines, and other renewable energy storage.

According to the statistics of the Prospective Industry Research Institute, from the perspective of the global demand for lead-acid batteries in downstream applications, the automotive starting field has the largest demand for lead-acid batteries, accounting for 45%, and the demand for lead-acid batteries in the electric vehicle power field is close to 28%, the demand for lead-acid batteries in the communications sector accounts for about 8%, and the demand for lead-acid batteries from solar power and wind power generation accounts for nearly 6%.

Analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of lead-acid batteries

The advantages of lead-acid batteries are that the electromotive force is relatively stable during discharge, the working voltage is stable, the operating temperature (-40°C-75°C) and the wide range of current use, hundreds of cycles of charge and discharge, and good storage performance (especially suitable for dry loads). Electricity storage), low cost.

In addition, compared with other battery metal materials, lead resources are relatively abundant, and the resource recovery rate is also high. Waste lead-acid batteries have high recycling value. Generally speaking, waste lead batteries contain 74% lead plates, 20% sulfuric acid and 6% plastics. As far as my country's current technology is concerned, the recycling rate of a group of lead-acid batteries can reach 80%, and some enterprises with more advanced equipment can even reach 98%. Lead reserves and recycled lead ensure the sustainable development of the lead-acid battery industry for a relatively long period of time.

The lead-acid battery also has its shortcomings: low energy density, very bulky, highly corrosive to the environment, short cycle life, large self-discharge, and not easy to over-discharge. Lead-acid batteries are suitable for loads that do not have strict voltage requirements, such as motorcycles and automobile ignition devices, which only need to be discharged instantaneously, but are not suitable for loads that require low battery internal resistance and continuous high current discharge.

In the medium and short term, due to the mature production technology, low price and high safety of lead-acid batteries, they will still be widely used in the future, especially in applications such as starting and large-scale energy storage, which are still difficult to be used by other new batteries. alternative. Due to factors such as resources and environmental protection, lead-acid batteries are also developing in the direction of saving lead, sealing maintenance-free, and recycling old batteries.

Of course, in the long run, the emergence of new electrode materials—nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, and lithium batteries has made a qualitative leap in battery performance. Lead-acid batteries will be gradually replaced due to the main problems of low energy density and short cycle life. Replaced by other materials with better performance.

Lead-acid battery market

Development status and prospects

Development overview of the global lead-acid battery industry

In the global market, lead-acid batteries occupy a dominant position in the battery market due to their advantages such as mature technology, high safety, high recycling rate and low price. In 2015, the global lead-acid battery market accounted for 54.67% of the global battery market.

In recent years, the global lead-acid battery market has continued to grow. According to data compiled by China Industry Information Network, the global lead-acid battery market in 2011 was only 37.21 billion US dollars, and by 2020, the global lead-acid battery market has reached 45.98 billion US dollars. , it is expected that the global market size will maintain an annual growth rate of 1%-2% in the future. Among them, Asia-Pacific and Europe and the United States are the main markets for the lead-acid battery industry. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for 58% of the market size, Europe and the United States account for 22%, and other regions account for 20%.

Development of China's lead-acid battery industry

my country is the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of lead-acid batteries, and the output of lead-acid batteries accounts for more than 40% of the world's total output.

According to the statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of my country, the output of lead-acid batteries in my country has been relatively stable in recent years. It was 227.356 million kVAh, a year-on-year increase of 12.28%. It is expected that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the output of lead-acid batteries in my country will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 2%. It is expected that by 2025, the output of domestic lead-acid batteries will reach 250 million kVAh.

In terms of import and export, my country's lead-acid battery trade surplus has maintained an increasing trend year by year. According to data from China Customs, in recent years, the import volume of lead-acid batteries in my country has shown a trend of increasing first and then decreasing. The export volume has been declining year by year, but it is still much larger than the import volume. In 2020, the import volume of lead-acid batteries in my country was 5.86 million, a year-on-year decrease of 35%, and the export volume was 169.43 million, a year-on-year decrease of 1%.

From the perspective of import and export structure, lead-acid batteries for starting piston engines are the main import and export products of my country's lead-acid battery industry, with a large proportion of import and export. In 2020, the import volume of lead-acid batteries used for starting piston engines in my country accounted for 17.77%, and the import value accounted for 45.57%; the import volume of other lead-acid batteries accounted for 82.23%, and the import value only accounted for 54.43%.

From the perspective of lead-acid battery output structure, domestic lead-acid battery output is mainly concentrated in Zhejiang, Hubei and Hebei, and the lead-acid battery output in these three places accounts for about 55% of the country's total output (Zhejiang 30%; Hubei 13%; Hebei 13%; Hebei In addition, the production of lead-acid batteries in Jiangsu, Anhui, and Guangdong all accounted for more than 5%, and the output of lead-acid batteries in other regions was less than 5%.

In recent decades, under the high pressure of the national environmental protection policy, some enterprises in my country's lead-acid battery industry have withdrawn from the market due to their weak viability, the total number of enterprises has declined, and the industry concentration has increased significantly. The current lead-acid battery industry is dominated by private enterprises. According to the division of operating income, at present, the companies with tens of billions of revenue in my country's lead-acid battery industry include Tianneng Group and Chaowei Power. Companies with operating income before 5 billion to 10 billion include Camel, Narada Power, Leoch International, Shuangdeng Group and Fengfan Co., Ltd. The operating income of other lead-acid battery companies is below 5 billion.

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