Tian Tie Technology Signs Procurement Framework Agreement with Zhuhai Xin Jie Energy

Recently, Tian Tie Technology announced that its subsidiary, Anhui Tian Tie, has signed a procurement framework agreement with Zhuhai Xin Jie Energy Technology Co., Ltd. The agreement involves the procurement of copper-lithium composite strips from Anhui Tian Tie, with an order value of 400 million yuan and an order quantity of 100 tons. The copper-lithium composite strip is a strip material created by combining a negative electrode current collector (copper foil) and negative electrode active material (lithium metal foil) through a specific process. It possesses the advantages of copper's electrical conductivity and mechanical strength, along with lithium's electrochemical activity, making it a common solution for lithium metal negative electrodes. This material is primarily applied in the field of lithium metal solid-state batteries. The announcement mentioned that Zhuhai Xin Jie is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xin Jie Energy, which focuses on the research and production of lithium metal solid-state batteries. Tian Tie Technology stated that Xin Jie Energy has already established a lithium metal solid-state battery production line with a capacity of over 100 MWh, and is currently building a GWh-level production line, attracting multiple investment institutions and demonstrating strong fulfillment capabilities. It was noted that Tian Tie Technology had previously signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Xin Jie Energy in May this year, agreeing that after the production line for solid-state batteries with a specific energy density of ≥450Wh/kg and a capacity of 2GWh is put into operation, Tian Tie Technology will be responsible for supplying the lithium metal materials for that production line, with a minimum annual procurement volume of 100 tons for at least five years. According to Tian Tie Technology, it is estimated that a 1GWh capacity would require about 100 tons of lithium metal negative electrode materials, which will be confirmed after the operation of Xin Jie Energy's 2GWh production line. Solid-state batteries using lithium metal as the negative electrode material are one of the significant development directions for solid-state batteries. So far, many domestic and international companies in the lithium battery supply chain, including CATL, Eve Energy, Tianqi Lithium, SES, Tallan New Energy, Anhui Mengwei, Xinwanda, LG Energy, and SK On, as well as various automakers like Geely, SAIC, GM, Honda, and Hyundai, are actively exploring lithium metal batteries. The high energy density is a notable advantage of lithium metal solid-state batteries; however, it is important to note that manufacturing lithium metal batteries presents significant technical challenges. Industry experts analyze that due to limitations such as the preparation process of lithium metal negative electrodes, the substantial volume changes of lithium metal negative electrodes, and the micro-short issues of lithium metal batteries, there is still a long road ahead for research and exploration before reaching large-scale production applications. Given the highly reactive nature of metallic lithium, there are particularly high requirements for manufacturing, technology, equipment, and the environment. Tian Tie Technology has revealed that Anhui Tian Tie has equipped itself with advanced technologies and integrated equipment for efficient electrolysis, impurity removal and purification, and low-temperature distillation, with all product equipment being non-standard, allowing for the safe production of battery-grade lithium with a purity reaching 99.97%-99.98%.