NAURA(SZ:002371) 高工锂电·2025-04-21 10:34Core Viewpoint - The composite current collector industry is facing challenges in industrialization primarily due to yield issues, which are fundamentally linked to cost concerns [6]. Group 1: Industry Development - The composite current collector industry is experiencing ongoing project launches, with significant investments such as nearly 10 billion yuan projects in Inner Mongolia and a 1 billion yuan project in Jiangmen [2]. - Financing activities in the composite current collector sector are also active, with companies like Anmate securing several hundred million yuan in Series B funding and Nali New Materials obtaining nearly 1 billion yuan in Series A+ funding [3]. - By 2025, the composite current collector is expected to enter an initial stage of mass production, with companies like U&S ENERGY planning to purchase 2 million square meters of composite aluminum foil and 1 million square meters of composite copper foil [4]. Group 2: Material Characteristics - Composite current collectors are seen as revolutionary materials in the foil sector, offering safety, weight reduction, and demetallization properties, making them excellent alternatives to traditional copper foils [5]. - Despite recent price increases in raw materials, the pressure for cost reduction remains, and the competitive landscape is intense, limiting the cost advantages of composite current collectors [6]. Group 3: Technical Challenges - The primary bottleneck for large-scale use of composite current collectors is the yield issue, which is closely tied to production costs [6]. - Current production methods involve high costs for vacuum coating equipment, which can range from hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan, making it difficult to recover depreciation costs without significant production efficiency [6]. - The industry is actively working on improving production yields and speeds, as well as enhancing production equipment and processes to achieve greater economies of scale [7]. Group 4: Equipment and Innovation - Companies like North Huachuang are advancing in the field of PVD equipment, focusing on breakthroughs in key equipment for the composite current collector industry [8]. - The eMeridian series of PVD equipment has been launched to meet the preparation needs for high-performance composite copper and aluminum foils, significantly improving production capacity and yield [11]. Group 5: Policy Support and Market Demand - The Chinese government is increasing support for the composite current collector industry, with policies encouraging technological advancements and large-scale applications [12]. - Market demand for composite current collectors is influenced by their cost-effectiveness compared to traditional copper foils, particularly in the context of the competitive landscape [13]. - The demand from mid-to-low-end electric vehicles for composite current collectors is limited, primarily due to the pricing of lithium iron phosphate battery cells [14]. Group 6: Performance and Future Applications - The conductivity of composite current collectors, which affects fast charging performance, is generally lower than that of traditional copper foils, posing a limitation for their use in fast-charging batteries [15]. - However, battery manufacturers are primarily focused on the safety benefits provided by composite current collectors, with some clients achieving performance comparable to traditional technologies [15]. - As breakthroughs in cost and performance continue, composite current collectors are expected to find applications beyond lithium batteries, including humanoid robots, aerospace, and high-end digital fields [15].