Since June, the international automotive business and e-business one after another large-scale joint investment in lithium battery race. These include the Toyota and Panasonic, Nissan and NEC, Sanyo and the general public, Samsung and Bosch, they believe that lithium batteries in the next few years will be gradually replaced nickel-metal hydride batteries, lead the hybrid electric vehicle development.

At that time,  Chinese auto companies are trying to develop nickel-metal hydride battery assembly of hybrid vehicles ,in order to focus on display during the Beijing Olympic Games.

This reporter has learned that, due to fears of instability of lithium batteries, from the "Tenth Five-Year" started in China's automotive research and development of new energy sources, will not focus on the direction of lithium batteries, but chose the nickel-metal hydride batteries.

June 26, the major projects Ouyang Minggao of the State 863 Program "energy-saving and new energy vehicle", head of the Expert Group in an interview that the lithium battery, domestic and foreign advanced level there are gaps. On a single battery is no problem in terms of materials, the performance of a single cell is not inferior to the international advanced level. But the composition of the battery, it’s stability and consistency of production, life, and so there are still big problems.

World War lithium batteries
According to public reports, in order to reduce investment risks and enhance the efficiency of the technology industry, a number of international car manufacturers have chosen to co-operate with the electronic production of lithium batteries means the development of new energy vehicle.

Toyota's joint venture with Matsushita's Panasonic EV Energy established two new hybrid battery manufacturing plant. from 2009 they will start product lithium batteries, and Toyota assembly scheduled for 2010 vehicles sold in the first plug-in hybrid cars, The car battery can be recharged through the household power supply.

Li-Ion Battery Production of the world's leader - Sanyo Electric Co. will mass product lithium batteries in the end of 2009 ,and the general public joint into the development control system. In addition to the general public, Sanyo also cooperate with Ford and Honda to develop lithium batteries. Sanyo's goal is the occupation of the global automotive lithium batteries for more than 40% market share  in 2015,. Sanyo also can be used to speed up the development of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle lithium batteries, and to strive in 2011 to start selling the product.

Nissan and NEC also announced that joint production of lithium batteries, they are plan to launch assembly of pure lithium batteries for electric vehicles in 2010. General Motors and South Korea's LG Chemical's Compact Power Inc. and China Automotive Systems signed a contract two lithium batteries.

Japan's GS Yuasa, Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has invested 3,000,000,000 yen (about 190,000,000 yuan) to build a lithium-Japan Energy (Lithium Energy Japan). Mitsubishi Motors will start selling in 2009 hybrid cars, and the mid-2010 net sales of electric vehicles.

With these investments to form the production capacity gradually released in 2012, lithium batteries could replace nickel-metal hydride batteries. Geely Automobile Research Institute Zhang Tong, vice president, told reporters it was his understanding that in the second half of this year, there is a Mercedes-Benz assembly of hybrid-type lithium battery market.

China routes
Prior to that, domestic enterprises generally consider that the stability of lithium battery ispoor, It may burning for the high temperature and spontaneous combustion.and it have been occurred in the actual test, also have occurred in the assembly of vehicles burning lithium battery case,. therefore, they will not choose Li-ion battery research and development as a priority direction, but the choice of nickel-metal hydride batteries. It is understood that the "Five-Year Plan" period, Ni-MH battery R & D investment is much more than lithium battery input. However, large-scale multinational corporations investment means that the domestic lithium battery technologies may have to re-route option?

At present, domestic enterprises develop to reaserch hybrid type, such as the Pentium hybrid FAW, SAIC Roewe 750 hybrid, and hybrid Chery A5, Chang-hoon hybrid are based on the nickel-metal hydride batteries. However, even if the technology is necessary to readjust the line, It is also difficult to catch up with advanced international standards a short period of time.
   Zhang Tong said that the international advanced level of lithium batteries have control of the erudite, and it is about to break through the bottleneck stability. According to reflect the business people, domestic lithium battery materials, batteries monomer processing components, batteries, a number of key technologies have yet to break through. .Moreover, the consistency of the production problems have not been fully resolved, it does’t have the production capacity.

So far as now on, no domestic battery and automotive R & D enterprise cooperate. For "11th Five-Year" Plan and 863 "energy-saving and new energy vehicle" projects, the participants of lithium battery research enterprises and research institutions include: Beijing Nonferrous Metal Research Institute, Suzhou Constant Star Power Co., Ltd., Tianjin Limited battery power of God And CITIC Guoan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd..
Zhang Tong said that in the field of lithium batteries, Chinese enterprises still have chance. because of our great efforts to develop consumer electronics products for the lithium battery industry ,it has laid a good foundation and will help to power batteries in the field of development.

A welcome change is that the industry has become the "11th Five-Year Plan" period lithium battery development direction. "Energy-saving and new energy automobile project," the general members of the expert group, the Dean of the School of Tongji University Automotive Yu Zhuoping told the reporters that the lithium battery research and development projects have also been asked to have a certain production capacity at the end of"11th Five-Year Plan"

Zhuo-Ping Yu said that improving the reliability of the transformation process need a lot of money and purchase many equipment. In the "11th Five-Year Plan" period, the central government will invest ￥60,000,000 in the development of lithium batteries, at the same time the company who take on the project in accordance with will input 10 times matching funds, so the total investment will reach ￥600,000,000. According to information gathered by the reporter, In the" 10^th Five-Year Plan" period, the lithium battery research and development funds allocated by our country only 800 million, plus local matching funds, only about ￥16,000,000.

Despite the investment increased in "11th Five-Year Plan" period , but compared to the huge multinational investment, domestic investment is still very small. It is understood that only a company Sanyo Electric lithium batteries investment projects reached 800 billion yen (776,700,000 U.S. dollars).

Across or follow?

In the face of the whole domestic new energy car enterprise behind the international level, some of the industry began to rethink that the Chinese auto industry realize leap-forward development strategy.

In early 2006, the "Tenth Five-Year" special major science and technology for electric vehicles in general, the head of the expert group Wan Gang said, Dongfeng, Chang'an, Chery and FAW's hybrid car from 2006 will sale Hybrid car on the market. Chery Automobile also said that in 2007 plans to achieve the hybrid automobile industry, to achieve the output of 30,000.

However, so far, China has not yet entered volume production of a hybrid car. And this time, the hybrid Toyota Prius around the world have been sold 1,000,000.

June 26, the National Development and Reform Commission told reporters thatthe domestic auto route is to follow the development of the advanced international level, because we are in this area beyond the strength and innovation. At the same time,we still have to adhere to the direction of a number of technology development at the same time, when the international community to adjust the direction of development, we also can adjusted as soon as possible, not out of line. He is unoptimistic about the speed of domestic hybrid vehicles industrialization.