Aluminum foil is a kind of aluminum rolled material. Aluminum foil is mainly about thickness. In the industry, aluminum products with a thickness less than 0.2mm are usually called aluminum foil. The edges are usually cut vertically and delivered in rolls. According to thickness, aluminum foil can be divided into double zero foil, single zero foil and thick foil. Generally speaking, double zero foil is mainly used for food packaging, cigarette packaging, electronic optical foil, etc.; single zero foil is used for some food packaging, pharmaceutical packaging, electronic circuit signal shielding, air conditioning foil, etc.; thick foil is mainly used for air conditioning foil, Container foil, architectural decoration and industrial applications
Battery aluminum foil is an essential raw material for batteries. What is usually called battery aluminum foil/copper foil refers to being used as an electrode current collector in a battery. Lithium batteries use aluminum foil as the positive electrode and copper foil as the negative electrode. According to actual research data, every GWh of ternary batteries requires 300-450 tons of battery foil, and every GWh of lithium iron phosphate batteries requires 400-600 tons of battery aluminum foil. In sodium batteries, due to sodium It will not react with aluminum, so both positive and negative electrodes are made of aluminum foil. It is estimated that each Gwh sodium battery requires 700-1,000 tons of aluminum foil, and the amount is more than twice that of lithium batteries. Compared with copper foil, the use of aluminum foil has the advantages of lower cost (lower aluminum price), reduced battery quality (lower aluminum density), and low transportation risk (no need to charge for transportation).
The average annual compound growth rate of aluminum foil since 2012 has reached 6.8%, which is much higher than the average growth rate of the industry; battery aluminum foil is a subdivision of foil products with explosive growth in demand. China's aluminum foil production totaled 4.55 million tons in 2021, compared with only 2.52 million tons in 2012, with an average annual compound growth rate of 6.8%, which is much higher than the average growth rate of the aluminum rolling industry. Battery aluminum foil accounts for a relatively small proportion of the overall aluminum foil production, only about 3%. However, the output in 2021 is 140,000 tons, and it is only 70,000 tons in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 100%. It is a detail of the explosive growth in demand for foil products. Variety
1) The performance requirements of battery aluminum foil are high, the process is complex, and the production line is difficult to increase in volume. ① High performance requirements: Battery aluminum foil has significantly higher requirements for relevant performance parameters than traditional aluminum foil: such as thickness difference requirement ≤±3% (traditional aluminum foil thickness difference ≤±5%), strict surface requirements (traditional aluminum foil has no other quantification except roller eyes) requirements), elongation ≥3% (traditional aluminum foil ≥1.5%), dyne value ≥31 (traditional aluminum foil 30 is enough), etc. ② Complex process: The aluminum foil production process involves multiple rolling processes and heat treatment processes such as alloy casting, homogenization, casting rolling, cold rolling, intermediate annealing, foil rolling, etc., and each node is interlocked. Based on this, the yield rate of battery aluminum foil production lines is generally not high (the industry leader currently only has 70%), which also determines that on the one hand, it is difficult to increase the volume of new production lines, and on the other hand, there is insufficient willingness to switch from traditional aluminum foil to battery foil (the process is difficult) , the yield rate is lower, so the conversion cost is higher).
2) The production line expansion cycle is long. The long expansion cycle of battery aluminum foil is mainly due to three aspects: equipment purchase and delivery (14-16 months), equipment installation and commissioning and production line construction (4-6 months), and downstream customer certification (more than 6 months). The overall production line expansion cycle is at least 2-3 years, which is longer than that of battery companies. The production line construction cycle is long, it is difficult to ramp up and increase the volume, the supply and demand expansion speed is inconsistent, the battery aluminum foil mismatch cycle will be further lengthened, it is expected to maintain a tight balance in the next 2-3 years, and processing fees are expected to remain high. In this case, the battery foil production expansion cycle often exceeds the planned time. In the first few years after the project is completed, the actual shipment volume of the battery aluminum foil factory is usually significantly different from the planned production capacity.
3) The certification cycle for battery aluminum foil is also longer than the market's previous understanding. Currently, there are only 5 aluminum foil factories qualified to supply CATL. Direct supply battery factories not only need to meet the battery factory's own certification (an average of 8 months for domestic factories and more than 12 months for overseas battery factories), but also need to pass ISO/TS16949 certification. ISO/TS16949 certification is the automotive industry quality system standard. All automotive industry companies, including OEMs and parts companies, must pass this standard certification. This certification requires at least 12 consecutive months of production and quality management records, including complete records of internal reviews and management reviews. For a newly established processing site, 12 months of records are required before certification audit registration can be carried out. If they do not have this qualification, the aluminum foil factory can only supply the battery factory through traders, resulting in a significant loss of net profit per ton of battery aluminum foil production.
