Great Power Technology

Guangzhou Automobile Aian Battery Factory in Yangcheng.

In the laboratory, several researchers are conducting SEM analysis of the embedded lithium nano-silicon materials required for batteries.

"From this picture, the particle size of the Li3N we obtained is 0.5-3 microns, the particle size is 1-5 microns, and the particle size is about 200 nanometers. However, its distribution is relatively uneven and does not reach the operating manual. technical requirements."

"Look at Figure 6 below, which is a cycle performance chart for lithium. This figure shows that the current density of this composite positive electrode is only about 600MAH in the first cycle, and only 400MAH after 100 cycles. The electrochemical stability is very good. Difference."

"If we follow this technical indicator, the batteries we make later will not reach the predetermined target of 900WH, and may not even reach 700WH."

"What's even more terrible is that the energy attenuation of this battery is too serious, and the problem of sulfide dissolving in the electrolyte still exists, and the impact is not small."

"Everyone, all our laboratory operations are strictly in accordance with the technical manuals, but the final results obtained now are completely inconsistent. This is a very serious problem. I would like to ask you to check your own laboratory again. In the process, confirm whether there are any missed operations or incorrect operations. If there are any, bring it up as soon as possible to restart trial production. Don’t wait until there is a problem in the end and find someone to take the blame.”

"I hope you all make it clear that this project is not a project for our company, but a national project! No matter what mistakes you make during the process, as long as you can correct them in time, it is not a problem. But if these mistakes are not If it is discovered and the project is delayed in the end, that would be a serious dereliction of duty, do you understand?"

Several researchers on the side looked grave. They looked at the analysis diagrams on the screen with furrowed brows and flipped through the operation records in their hands. However, after a few minutes, no one found out the problem.

A young researcher said:

"Team leader, I have checked my process countless times, and I really can't find any problems. Please rest assured on this. Although I am young, it is impossible for me to make mistakes in this kind of thing."

After hearing his words, other researchers also agreed.

"Yeah, I've checked mine too, and I really didn't find anything wrong. Moreover, I've checked not only the process, but also the materials. They are all materials that meet the requirements. Even after the last time we had a problem, we The materials have also been specially analyzed, and the accuracy of the component determination has been verified, so it must be reliable.”

"Same for me. I can't see the problem, but I always feel like something is wrong."

"Is there something wrong with the process itself? To be honest, when I took on this project, I compared several current mainstream processes, and the difference with the one we have is quite big."

"I also think there may be problems with the process - or there is nothing wrong with the process itself. Could it be that the documents we got have errors and omissions? I have gone through the entire process, except for some that have no empirical basis. There was an accident in the workmanship, but all other steps are logically self-consistent, and I feel that the possibility of stable errors and omissions is relatively high.”

After hearing the researcher's words, a look of hesitation began to appear on the team leader's face.

Indeed, as several of them said, he himself has controlled the overall process down to the second level, and is confident that he has never missed any step. The materials they use have also been inspected. , or even specially transported from the reserve, it is almost impossible for problems to occur.

However, now the facts are indeed before our eyes:

The performance of the battery is completely substandard, and this substandard performance is not within the range that can be explained by the error rate.

To put it mildly, what they built was completely different from what was described in the technical documentation.

If the battery described in the technical document is compared to a supercar, then what they built can only be regarded as a jumping car at best.

Although this bouncy car can also run for two thousand kilometers, it is far inferior to a sports car in terms of speed and comfort.

"Is there a problem with the composition of transition metals? Have you tested the oxidation data of the metal before using transition metals? If exposed to a non-vacuum environment for too long, even an extremely thin oxide layer will affect the overall compliance. of the material’s properties.”

"Everything has been checked. They were all prepared in a vacuum. There are no problems."

After checking this, the team leader felt that he had basically done everything he could do.

All the possible problems he could think of had been eliminated, and the only possible answer was left: there was a problem with the process.

Thinking of this, he said:

"You should conduct a laboratory trial production again. This time, remember to take the temperature conditions into consideration - there is no such requirement in the technical manual, but it may have an impact."

"Team leader, this shouldn't be true. If the preparation conditions are so harsh, then this product has no potential to scale up. How about we report it to our superiors first?"

The team leader nodded and replied:

"I will report it to my superiors, but you should do what you need to do first, and try to eliminate all wrong answers."

As he spoke, he turned and left the laboratory.

He now wants to immediately convene an emergency meeting of the core management of the project team to reflect the situation facing the laboratory.

Time is very tight. In less than 10 days, this battery must be completed and put online. According to the original plan, it must also be adapted as a cell for their latest magazine battery.

This adaptation process takes at least three days, so there are only less than three days left for them.

Thinking of this, his pace involuntarily accelerated a bit.

Two hours later, the General Technical Office received news that the battery trial production had failed. After confirming that the problem could not be solved, all relevant technical documents and operation records were submitted to Ye Zhou, waiting for his further guidance.

Everyone believes that this is an insurmountable difficulty, and Chen Hao has even begun to launch a backup plan and prepare to delay the release of the battery.

After all, in the year he has been cooperating with Ye Zhou, no matter which project it is, there have been no problems with the technical documents received by the project team. Maybe they will face materials, processes, precision, etc. during the manufacturing process. There are various difficulties in such aspects, but the documentation has never been wrong.

But this time, based on the conclusions of all current experts, they have to believe that this is a process error.

"Such problems are unavoidable. Ye Zhou has provided so many breakthrough technologies in a short period of time, and the span is huge, and errors are being cleared up."

"Also, I have communicated with the relevant staff. In fact, even if they release the incomplete version of the battery they have completed now, it will still be a big breakthrough for the international battery industry."

"If we can have more time in the future to transform and optimize the current process at hand, it will not be difficult to achieve the goal proposed by Ye Zhou at that time."

"However, we have not yet started this step, mainly because we don't know how difficult it will be."

After listening to Chen Hao's words, the star emblem man on the screen nodded and replied:

"The situation is clear. From my point of view, this is not a failure. At most, it just fails to achieve the expected goal."

"We're still waiting for Ye Zhou's reply on this matter to see what he has to say, but if he can't come up with a solution in the short term, we shouldn't put too much pressure on him."

"There are some things we can rely on him for, and there are some things we have to work hard on ourselves."

"clear."

Chen Hao nodded in response.

"That's it. You go down and call Ye Zhou. According to what I know about him, he should have read all the documents you submitted."

However, before he finished speaking, Chen Hao's cell phone rang from the other side.

Chen Hao glanced at the contact display above and said:

"It's Ye Zhou."

"Take it, I'll listen too."

Chen Hao hummed and answered the phone.

Before he could speak, Ye Zhou's calm and tired voice sounded on the other end of the phone:

"The quality of S powder and polyacrylonitrile is not linearly related to the ethanol ratio required in the ball milling process."

"100G S powder requires 400R grinding for 6 minutes, but 200G is not as simple as 400R grinding for 12 minutes."

"There is a coefficient here. Every time the grinding time and rotation speed increase by one level, the ethanol blending ratio increases by more than one level. In the same way, the decrease is the same."

"Let them check the process themselves and calculate the coefficients of the rotation speed and grinding time with the ethanol ratio. Basically, the problem will not be big."

"Mr. Chen, please make it clear to your engineers next time that some things cannot be copied completely from the technical documents. This point is indeed a very subtle and easily overlooked detail. However, if you are willing to spend time to check the whole process If we look at the manufacturing logic instead of just checking the process, we can still find it.”

Chen Hao listened to Ye Zhou's words with a little shame, and then replied:

"This is my problem. I asked them to process it 100% according to the documents through the General Technical Office. I didn't expect this difference. Sorry, I will invite experts for guidance next time before I make a decision."

"Well, that's best. We don't give out technical documents to completely stifle the creativity of our engineers. We should pay attention to this issue in the future, especially when the General Technical Office represents the will of the country and the engineers within the company represent the will of the company. , they will have more concerns during the implementation process.”

"We must not only guide, but more importantly, guide. Otherwise, if all the little things have to be done by the state, how can we have so much manpower and material resources? Okay, hang up."

With that said, Ye Zhou hung up the phone.

Chen Hao looked at the star emblem man on the screen. The latter smiled and said teasingly:

"Look at you, you made a bureaucratic mistake and were criticized, right?"

Chen Hao smiled sheepishly and replied:

"Then I will inform the company now. It is indeed my fault that this matter has happened. The company has already discovered that the document may be unclear, and we have not made a decision to let them improve it on their own."

The star emblem man nodded slightly and said:

"Grow up from your mistakes. The General Technical Office has just been established. There must be problems in overall leadership and execution management. Take your time, it's okay."

After saying that, the man from Xinghui also hung up the video call.

Chen Hao picked up his mobile phone and prepared to call GAC to inform them of the situation. When the screen of his mobile phone lit up, the call records between him and Ye Zhou automatically appeared.

At 17:15, he informed Ye Zhou that there was a problem with the trial production.

At 17:36, he received Ye Zhou's solution.

From the time the problem occurred to the time it was resolved, only 20 minutes had passed.