With the acceleration of the commercialization process of humanoid robots, the power battery industry chain is ushering in a new round of opportunities. The latest news shows that Tianpeng Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Azure Lithium, has obtained the latest order from a certain humanoid robot customer for its cylindrical battery products equipped with positive electrode materials provided by Mengguli. Although the order size and specific partners have not been disclosed, the market generally believes that Tianpeng Power has always been an important supplier to Yushu and has a leading advantage in this niche market.

According to market news, Tianpeng Power's supply to Yushu will reach 60% in 2024 (including robots and robotic dogs), and is expected to double by 2025. The company's order volume in the first quarter of 2025 may be close to the full year level of 2024.

At present, models such as Blue Lithium 18650 (3.5Ah) and 21700 (4.0Ah, 5.0Ah) have entered the verification testing stage. The company believes that the large-scale implementation of humanoid robots requires further development of 7.0Ah battery cells to meet higher endurance requirements.

At the same time, the positive electrode material provided by Mengguli is known for its high energy density and instantaneous ultra-high rate discharge characteristics, which can support more sensitive motion performance of robots. Ternary materials are the core business of Mengguli, and its accumulation on the high nickel route may provide further support for optimizing the performance of humanoid robot power batteries.

At the same time, another battery giant, EVE Energy, is actively expanding into the humanoid robot market. The company recently announced on an interactive platform that it has contacted multiple leading humanoid robot companies and car manufacturers to provide customized battery solutions for products such as humanoid robots and robotic dogs, focusing on high energy density, safety, fast charging or battery swapping needs. It is reported that some customers have completed sample delivery and assembly.

Currently, humanoid robots are in a critical period of mass production and commercialization. Due to the highly customized application scenarios, it has extremely high differentiated requirements and performance demands for batteries. Overall, humanoid robot batteries need to have multiple characteristics such as high energy density, high power output, high rate discharge (2-3C or higher), high safety, and long lifespan, among which the improvement of energy density is particularly crucial.

On the one hand, improving flexibility is the core direction of the development of humanoid robots. For example, the Tesla Optimus Prime's hand has 22 degrees of freedom, close to the 27 degrees of freedom of a human hand, while the Ubiquitous Walker X is equipped with 41 servo driven joints throughout its body. For every additional degree of freedom, it means the need to install independent motors, encoders, and transmission devices, thereby increasing the demand for battery energy density.

On the other hand, endurance is also an important factor determining the actual landing of humanoid robots. At present, the battery life of most products is still within 2 hours, and only a few manufacturers can achieve 2 to 6 hours. However, the market expects humanoid robots to truly enter production and living scenarios, with a battery life of at least 8 to 10 hours, and even industrial customers requesting 10-12 hours to cover a full work shift and minimize charging interruptions.

In the absence of significant breakthroughs in battery technology, some companies choose to increase the number of batteries to improve battery life. For example, the cross dimensional intelligent W1 robot adopts a wheeled chassis design, with a 20 kilogram lithium battery placed under the chassis to lower the center of gravity, improve operational stability and safety, and achieve a range of up to 8 hours. But this approach essentially sacrifices weight and space for battery life, and is not a long-term feasible solution.

In the long run, the increasing demand for flexibility and endurance of humanoid robots ultimately leads to breakthroughs in battery energy density. To achieve an energy density of over 300Wh/kg, relying solely on high nickel ternary materials is approaching its limit, and the application of solid-state batteries has become a key breakthrough.

Ouyang Minggao, an academician of the CAS Member, pointed out that the humanoid robot battery needs to find a balance between energy density, cost and safety, and predicted that 2025 will be the watershed of the technical route. If the semi-solid battery can control the cost below 150 dollars/kWh (about 1000 yuan), it is expected to take the lead in opening applications in the humanoid robot market.

Currently, multiple companies in the industry are actively exploring solutions for applying solid-state batteries to humanoid robots.

The third-generation humanoid robot of GAC Group is equipped with an all solid state battery provided by Xinwangda Electronics Co., Ltd., with a battery life of up to 6 hours and significantly reduced energy consumption, saving more than 80% energy compared to similar products. It is worth mentioning that Xinwangda also added a 40 million yuan investment in robot company Baoshide in February, accelerating its layout in the robotics field in the form of industrial investment.

The Tianhe C1 humanoid robot of Softtek Tianqing, a subsidiary of Softtek, can operate continuously for more than 4 hours. It uses the full pole ear quasi solid state battery cells and BMS system of Chuangming New Energy internally, with precise internal resistance control as low as 3m Ω, effectively reducing battery weight while ensuring battery performance. It is also equipped with advanced power management algorithms and a battery capacity of up to 10000mAh.

Changhong Power has developed a 21NCM35 semi-solid lithium-ion battery pack for robots, which is claimed to have an energy density of up to 250Wh/kg and can achieve 15Ah discharge at low temperatures of -40 ℃, with a discharge capacity efficiency of over 90%. The cycle life of this lithium-ion battery can reach over 1000 times at room temperature.

Funeng Technology has also connected with leading domestic humanoid robot companies to meet the demand for solid-state batteries, and customized development has been carried out according to customer needs. It is expected to send samples within the year.

In March of this year, Nanfu Battery and solid-state battery enterprise High Energy Era (Sulfide Route) reached a cooperation agreement. The two sides plan to jointly invest in the establishment of a new battery pilot platform joint venture company, with the goal of completing the sample delivery of solid-state battery products, including robots, by December 2028.

According to GGII's prediction, if each humanoid robot is equipped with a 2kWh battery capacity, the global shipment of lithium batteries for embodied intelligent robots will reach 2.2GWh by 2025, and the demand will exceed 100GWh by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of over 100% from 2025 to 2030. This means that in the next few years, the power battery industry may usher in a new round of explosive growth.

Overall, as the commercialization of humanoid robots accelerates, the power battery industry is becoming a key driving force in this emerging market. Whether it is the continuous optimization of the existing ternary system or the accelerated landing of solid-state batteries, industry giants are seizing the opportunity to reshape the market landscape through technological innovation.