Research and analysis of Chinese lithium-ion battery manufacturers: SVOLT Energy Technology
MARKET POSITION / OVERVIEW: Beehive Energy (SVOLT Energy) is a battery manufacturer that was spun off from Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor (Great Wall) in 2018.
Parent company Great Wall spun off the company to produce batteries for EVs/hybrids in-house, and while the company has only been around for a short time, it is rapidly expanding its business with the backing of a major automotive group.
By 2023, the company will rank 6th in China in terms of the number of batteries installed in vehicles.
Although it is estimated to have only 1-2% of the global market share, it is a start-up company with high growth potential in the future.
Main products and applications: HONEYE ELECTRIC is a pioneer in cobalt-free batteries.
The world’s first mass-produced cobalt-free ternary (NMX) battery was launched in 2020 and attracted great attention.
The NMX battery is an attempt to reduce the cost increase and supply risk caused by the use of cobalt, while maintaining energy density with nickel and manganese as the main components.
Currently, our product range includes NMX as well as conventional NCM and LFP batteries, and we offer batteries for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and energy storage.
Our strategy is to develop high-nickel NCM/NMX cells for high-end and high-performance EVs and LFP cells for popular vehicles.
We are also focusing on the development of battery pack systems, using approaches similar to CATL, such as module integration design.
The main applications are for passenger cars, but we are also starting to work on projects for commercial vehicles and buses.
Key customers and partners: Hives Energy’s main customer is its parent company, Great Wall Motor (GWM).
(GWM), where SVOLT batteries are used in Great Wall Motor’s “ORA” EV brand electric vehicles and hybrid SUV models.SVOLT batteries are also used in some EV models from Sichuan Automobile and Guangqi Motor, among other Chinese manufacturers.
Internationally, Stellantis (a European automotive group that includes Peugeot and Jeep) has partnered with SVOLT and announced a contract to supply batteries to Stellantis starting in 2025.
In line with this, SVOLT plans to build battery factories in Europe with a maximum of five locations and a total production capacity of more than 20 GWh.
In addition, according to media reports, SVOLT has received an order from BMW for batteries worth approximately $10 billion and is expected to supply batteries to the German automaker in the future.
As a result, SVOLT is receiving an increasing number of inquiries from manufacturers outside of Japan and is aiming to become a global supplier.
Recent developments: SVOLT is in a growth phase and faces the challenges of expanding production capacity and raising capital.
In China, several gigafactories are under construction in Hebei, Jiangxi and other provinces, with a total production capacity of around 60GWh by 2023.
In Europe, we had originally planned to build a large-scale plant in Germany, but we have temporarily revised the plan in 2023 (due to changes in the financing environment).
Instead, several medium-scale plants are being considered.
On the technology side, we are also working on solid-state and semi-solid-state batteries and have been named a member of the Solid-State Battery Alliance Project sponsored by the Chinese government.
In 2022, the company is also looking to raise funds by applying for an IPO on the Keisoku Board (China’s version of the NASDAQ). The key to growth will be expanding sales to companies other than Great Wall Motor, the parent company, and strengthening its financial base.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
