[The Opening Act of the 4680 Battery War] Tesla, BMW, Lucid... The Cylindrical Market Heats Up

From Automakers to Startups, Adoption of Cylindrical Design

Next-generation cylindrical batteries supplied by LG Energy Solution to the American electric vehicle startup 'Lucid Motors.' Photo by LG Energy Solution [Image source=Yonhap News]

Cylindrical batteries are becoming the center of the secondary battery market. Since Tesla announced its plan to develop the '4680 (46mm diameter · 80mm height)' cylindrical battery in 2020, the battery market, which had been leaning towards prismatic and pouch types, is once again shifting back to a cylindrical battery focus. 'The Dawn of the 4680 Battery War'

According to the battery and automotive industries on the 19th, electric vehicle startups such as Rivian and Lucid, as well as traditional automakers like BMW, Volvo, and Jaguar, are rushing to adopt or consider adopting cylindrical batteries for their electric vehicle models. The industry expects the demand for cylindrical batteries to increase by about 135%, from 12.1 billion units last year to 28.5 billion units by 2030. This is the background for the increasingly fierce competition among global battery manufacturers.

Batteries are broadly classified by shape into cylindrical, pouch, and prismatic types. They are made by manufacturing the cathode and anode plates and combining them with a separator and electrolyte. However, energy density varies depending on the battery shape, and production processes and technical difficulty also differ.

Among these, cylindrical batteries are the most traditional type. Their origin traces back to primary batteries (non-rechargeable batteries) with a cylindrical shape. The main reason for making them cylindrical is that the cathode and anode plates are wound like a roll of toilet paper using a winding method, making it easy to produce a single finished product. This allows for lower manufacturing costs.

Tesla was the one to introduce the cylindrical battery concept into a market that had been dominated by prismatic and pouch types. Global automakers had been adopting prismatic or pouch batteries despite their high prices because they could achieve high energy density. Elon Musk emphasized at Tesla's Battery Day event in September 2020 that the '4680 battery' would have five times the energy density, six times the power output, and improve driving range by 16-20% compared to existing batteries. Adding new process technologies, the driving range for electric vehicles could increase by 54%, battery pack costs could decrease by 56%, and related investment costs could be reduced by 69%.

According to the 'China Cylindrical Lithium-ion Battery Industry Development White Paper (2022)' jointly published by China's EVTank, EVEconomy Research Institute, and Battery Industry Research Institute, global shipments of cylindrical battery cells reached 12.17 billion units last year, a 21% increase from the previous year. This amount is enough to produce about 3.2 million 70kWh electric vehicles equipped with cylindrical batteries. This growth is due to increased demand for wireless home appliances and strong sales of Tesla electric vehicles equipped with cylindrical batteries.

Panasonic, LG Energy Solution, and Samsung SDI ranked first, second, and third in sales, respectively. China's EVE took fourth place. Although Chinese companies are gradually building cylindrical battery lineups, domestic companies and Japan's Panasonic are still considered to have a competitive advantage in this field.