Frost & Sullivan Insight
Since 2026, China’s battery industry has witnessed a surge in fast charging and ultra-fast charging trends. Does this help solve the problem of long charging times for new energy vehicles, thereby further affecting the sales of gasoline vehicles? Additionally, some consumers question whether fast charging and ultra-fast charging damage batteries. Can this be resolved? Chinese battery manufacturers have improved charging speed by reducing resistance. However, increased current may place high demands on battery heat dissipation. Moreover, as battery usage time increases, does it lead to increased resistance, which in turn affects battery heating? How should we view the development of sodium-ion batteries? If they reduce costs through scale advantages, will this help fill the gap in relatively low-end markets, as well as fields like AIDC that require high discharge rate performance? Will sodium-ion batteries pose a threat to lithium batteries in the future?
Frost & SullivanFrost & Sullivan(hereinafter referred to as "Frost & Sullivan") Senior Partner and Managing Director Jia Pang gave an interview to the Daily Economic News to discuss how battery technology can break through and thrive under the wave of ultra-fast charging.
Daily Economic News
Q:Since 2026, China’s battery industry has witnessed a surge in fast charging and ultra-fast charging trends. Does this help solve the problem of long charging times for new energy vehicles, thereby further affecting the sales of gasoline vehicles? Additionally, some consumers question whether fast charging and ultra-fast charging damage batteries. Can this be resolved?
Fast charging and ultra-fast charging significantly shorten charging time. With high-voltage platforms(800V) and the popularization of high-rate cells, the charging experience has become similar to that of gasoline vehicles, effectively alleviating users' range concerns and accelerating the replacement of gasoline vehicles by new energy vehicles. However, its impact is currently limited by factors such as charging network density, grid load, and vehicle penetration rates.
Traditional graphite negative electrodes may experience lithium precipitation and dendrite growth under fast charging and ultra-fast charging conditions, leading to capacity degradation and safety risks, thereby damaging the battery. Current improvements through material system optimization (such as silicon-carbon negative electrodes and low-resistance electrolytes), enhanced thermal management, andBMS precise control have already mitigated some of the lifespan degradation caused by high-rate charging. In addition, the new national standard issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (GB38031-2025 “Safety Requirements for Power Battery Cells Used in Electric Vehicles”) will take effect in July 2026. For ultra-fast charging batteries, it requires passing external short-circuit tests after 300 fast charging cycles, and the fast charging performance between 20% and 80% SOC must remain stable, further ensuring the safety of fast charging and ultra-fast charging.
Q:Chinese battery manufacturers have improved charging speed by reducing resistance. However, increased current may place high demands on battery heat dissipation. Moreover, as battery usage time increases, does it lead to increased resistance, which in turn affects battery heating?
Improving charging speed by reducing internal resistance essentially enhances the current-carrying capacity. Heat generation is proportional to the square of the current, which significantly increases heating, placing higher demands on the thermal management system, including thermal interface materials and integrated vehicle thermal management design.
High-rate charging and discharging accelerate the breakdown of electrode material particles and the thickening of the solid electrolyte interphase membrane(SEI membrane), and internal resistance tends to increase over time, further exacerbating thermal issues. Therefore, the industry is optimizing cell structures, improving material stability, and implementing more precise BM strategies to slow down internal resistance growth, while using vehicle-level thermal management to mitigate thermal risks associated with high rates.
Q:How should we view the development of sodium-ion batteries? If they reduce costs through scale advantages, will this help fill the gap in relatively low-end markets, as well asfields like AIDC that require high discharge rate performance? Will sodium-ion batteries pose a threat to lithium batteries in the future?
Sodium-ion batteries offer advantages such as abundant resources, large cost potential, and good low-temperature performance. After scaling up, they are expected to fill the “gap” in lower-end passenger vehicles, two-wheelers, and energy storage applications where lithium batteries are cost-competitive. Their high-rate performance has potential in areas requiring high power output, such as AIDC. However, in terms of energy density, sodium batteries are still significantly lower than mainstream lithium batteries, making it difficult for them to enter mid-to-high-end passenger vehicle markets in the short term. Thus, they are likely to form a “local structural substitute” and coexist with lithium batteries across different price ranges and application scenarios in the long term. In the long run, their competitiveness depends on cost reduction through scale and continuous optimization of cycle performance.
