Nowadays, electronic products consumers are most concerned about the endurance, lightness and safety of the products, which are closely related to the battery industry. At 2018 CES Asia, the largest consumer electronics show in Asia inaugurated in Shanghai on June 13^th, BAK Battery, as one of the earliest companies entered the field of consumer digital lithium-ion batteries, appeared with a variety of applications in smart consumer electronics.

The Battery Industry is Closely Related to Our Life

The theme of CES Asia 2018, “Intelligent Manufacturing, Extraordinary Future”, fully explains people’s new ideas and new demands in respect of daily consuming demands and habits in this internet era: consumers’ demands for mobility has pushed the product applications to be lightweight and portable; demands for full-time, all-round and quick services have facilitated solution-based operating services of companies; and the continuous development, innovation, iteration, and popularization of new technologies are also lowering costs of various products for consumer electronics, thus resulting in a price advantage that is beneficial to consumers.

Correspondingly, BAK appeared with several latest smart products for life consumer electronics applied with BAK products under the theme of “Electricity Drives Unlimited Potentials”, including Xiaomi self-balancing scooter, robot vacuum cleaner, HP photo printer, Danish Libratone bluetooth noise reducing headphones, etc. The products displayed ranged from daily household life to long-distance transportation, covering a variety of innovative application scenarios for smart internet-based life.

In the big Internet era, boundaries among work, life, family, office and travel are blurred, enabling people to work while on the road, and play games or have a break while working. The increasing penetration of electronic products in life has properly solved problems above. The users of consumer electronics, in addition to the basic requirement of safety, are most concerned about whether electronic products are light, portable, long lasting, and suitable enough for mobile use.

The Energy Density Ratio Determines the Endurance

Battery capacity and its capacity density are key factors to determine the endurance of electronics. Taking mobile phones as an example, the current energy density ratios of mobile phone batteries are mostly around 680Wh/L. Energy density ratio is critical to increase the endurance while maintaining lightness and thinness. At present, BAK has achieved mass production of 730Wh/L batteries, maximizing the endurance while remaining lightweight and thin, to satisfy users’ demands for long-time use.

Increased Space Utilization Makes Products Lighter

Under the same volume, high-voltage and high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries can provide more power for electronics. In addition to continuously optimizing space utilization of lithium-ion batteries, improving the compaction density and gram capacity of the anode and cathode materials of batteries, and using highly conductive carbon nanometer and macromolecule binders to increase the content of active materials in positive and negative electrodes, BAK also improves battery energy density by increasing the operating voltage of the lithium-ion batteries. Currently, BAK has successfully developed batteries with a 4.45V high-voltage system.

Ceramic Makes Batteries Safer and More Stable

Ceramic can be used for separators, positive and negative electrodes to greatly enhance the resistance against the thermal shock, while BAK is the first lithium-ion battery manufacturer to introduce ceramic materials in China. In terms of cycle performance, BAK has a professional electrolyte R&D team to analyze the additives and mechanisms of action. In respect of the proportion of active substances, BAK has also carried out multiple conductivity optimizations to increase it. After a series of optimizations of conductivity, electrolyte and diaphragm have guaranteed the cycle performance and safety performance. At the same time, various technologies such as internal heat blocking, circuit break, pressure relief, isolation and buffering have also facilitated realization of the safety and stability of the battery system, ensuring the safety of batteries.

All the products for consumer electronics that BAK unveiled at the exhibition applied BAK batteries, including the Q ADAPT bluetooth noise reducing headphones from the Danish speaker brand Libratone driven by BAK polymer lithium-ion batteries, the endurance of which is up to 20 hours, making carefree listening at anywhere or anytime possible. The HP photo printer Sprocket is powered by BAK’s large-rate discharging polymer lithium-ion battery, the biggest feature of which is the portability, enabling users to capture beautiful moments from the phone or the built-in camera at any time or anywhere, and print beautiful photos. The Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaner and No.9 self-balancing scooter driven by BAK’s high-energy cell 18650 have superior performance and strong endurance. In addition, the Hello moped bicycle also uses BAK’s high-energy cell 18650 battery, to gain reliable cut-off brake lever, brake balance and brake sensitivity, while the use of automotive-level high-energy cells of BAK also provides waterproof, anti-collision damage protection and high-level safety.

Meet the New Growth Point Brought by Smart Internet-Based Lifestyle with “CELL Power”

As a new power for the era of intelligent IoT, battery manufacturers are also constantly investing in researches and innovations to help consumer electronics cope with changes and challenges mentioned above. It’s reported that, mobile phones are still the largest segment for the application of lithium-ion batteries, with a market share of 45% in the global small-scale lithium-ion battery segment. Moreover, the scale of PT electric tools is increasing rapidly, while the emerging technologies such as the popular UAVs, VRs, single-person electric vehicles, and smart-home products are still in the early stages of market development. According to predictions for the market and the scale of China's small lithium-ion batteries provided by GGII, the scale of this market will reach 55GWh in 2021.

Dr. Teng Xin, General Manager of the 3C Business Unit of BAK Battery, conducted in-depth discussions with the media and industry professionals during the exhibition. He said: "We are very pleased to see that in the era of new technologies, faced with new consumer demands and challenges, service providers for new smart terminals and manufacturers for new energy vehicles are paying more attention to their ‘cells’. As the most important driving force in the era of new energies, BAK Battery will also start from the ‘cell’, to provide lithium-ion batteries and power solutions with higher safety performance, longer cruising range/longer duration, longer service life, faster charging, higher adaptability to high and low temperatures, for end users and consumers of whole vehicles, future vehicles, smart-home products and IoT."

According to Dr. Teng Xin, BAK Battery, as the market pacemaker in the field of digital lithium-ion batteries, has been sticking to continuous R&D and innovation as the development genes of the company for all time, and is committed to providing a sustaining power of intelligent cell for the intelligent upgrade of consumer electronics. "We believe that, small consumer lithium-ion batteries and polymer lithium-ion batteries will become dominant in the future, while technologies including long endurance and fast charging are the competitive advantages that everyone will pay attention to." Dr. Teng Xin said, "BAK will expand the small consumer lithium-ion batteries based on its advantages in automotive power batteries, to cope with new demands and challenges in the new era with product properties including safety, stability, long endurance, long cycle life, and fast charging and discharging."

Currently, BAK product lines cover a series of polymer products from 20mAh to 10000mAh that support fast charging and discharging, as well as high-rate discharging, which is one of the future layouts of BAK in the field of consumer electronics. To realize consumers’ demands for mobility and portability, BAK will continue to strengthen its industrial competitiveness. Secondly, BAK’s 18650 energy products has covered the 2.2Ah to 3.5Ah series. They also have power tools for medium and high power applications, as well as portable vacuum cleaners that support discharge up to 30A. All of these have laid a solid foundation for BAK to march into the field of smart-home products. In addition, green travel has become an important emphasis for BAK in the field of consumer electronics, with products including batteries, modules and packages applied in a full range of vehicle models from passenger vehicles, buses, logistics vehicles and special vehicles. As of December 2017, BAK has installed a total of 110,000 vehicles and the capacity of power batteries has reached 8GWh, ranking among the world's leading suppliers of lithium-ion batteries and electric energy solutions.

Ending Remarks

Batteries, which are indispensable for electronic products, are becoming increasingly important. 90% of daily electronic products that people are using today are powered by lithium-ion batteries, including household robot cleaners, vacuum cleaners, smart stereos, door locks and monitors, which must be powered by batteries to prevent power outages. Further upgrades in battery technologies and quality will benefit consumers more. Electronic products will gain longer endurances, faster charging, lighter and smaller volumes. BAK Battery indicates that, it will provide better experience and reference for the application of lithium-ion batteries for consumer electronics based on its application advantages in the fields above. Moreover, BAK Battery will further increase its investment in consumer digital products to further enhance the performance and productivity of polymer products.