On February 6, 2026, Ningbo Fuli Battery Materials Technology Co., Ltd. hosted the Forum on Next-Generation Power Lithium Battery Materials in Ningbo. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the company publicly released the industrialization progress of two core high-specific-energy material routes: lithium-rich manganese-based cathodes and silicon-carbon anodes.
The updated progress includes ongoing expansion toward a 10,000-ton-scale production capacity, stable operation of its 1,000-ton demonstration line, and the pilot and commercialization roadmap for graphene-composite silicon-carbon anodes jointly developed with the National Graphene Innovation Center.
Fuli’s technical roadmap highlights a clear industry shift: as high-specific-energy batteries evolve from laboratory performance indicators to reliable engineering reproducibility, material competitiveness no longer depends merely on single-point performance advantages. Instead, core value lies in stable mass supply, controllable performance consistency, and systematic engineering solutions compatible with battery pack integration.
A landmark industry achievement announced on the same day strongly validates Fuli’s technical and industrialization layout.
Zhongqi Xinneng unveiled China’s first vehicle integration of a high-specific-energy solid-liquid hybrid lithium-rich manganese-based battery system. Co-developed by Zhongqi Xinneng’s R&D center together with research teams from Nankai University and other institutions, the system adopts high-capacity lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials supplied by Ningbo Fuli as a key core material.
The officially verified technical indicators reach an impressive new industry benchmark: a cell-level energy density of 500Wh/kg, a system-level energy density of 288Wh/kg, a total pack capacity of 142kWh, and an installed vehicle cruising range exceeding 1,000 kilometers.
The milestone vehicle installation has drawn widespread industry attention, as it re-establishes the practical application value of the lithium-rich manganese-based route after years of technical iteration.
Over the past decade, ternary and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) materials have dominated mainstream markets for passenger vehicles and energy storage with mature scale advantages. However, growing demands for longer cruising ranges and higher energy density have exposed the inherent upper-limit constraints of traditional battery systems.
Lithium-rich manganese-based materials feature ultra-high theoretical specific capacity and low raw material resource dependency, yet their large-scale commercialization has long been restricted by persistent challenges including voltage attenuation, low initial Coulombic efficiency, cycling side reactions, and gas evolution. These technical bottlenecks have hindered system matching and consistent mass production for years.
Against this backdrop, Fuli’s systematic industrialization disclosure at its 10th anniversary answers the industry’s most critical question: what verifiable engineering and manufacturing capabilities are required to transform lithium-rich manganese-based materials from lab samples into scalable, replicable commercial products.
Ningbo Fuli 10th Anniversary Forum: Reframing Core Discussions Toward Material-Side Breakthroughs
As a landmark public technical release coinciding with its 10-year development milestone, Fuli’s next-generation power battery materials forum shifted industry focus from macroscopic system demonstration to fundamental material-level breakthroughs, centering on two core propositions: the root causes of lithium-rich manganese-based material bottlenecks, and feasible industrialization paths to resolve such challenges to achieve ton-scale engineering consistency.
Qiu Bao, Researcher at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a keynote report titled Research Progress and Challenges of High-Capacity Lithium-Rich Manganese-Based Cathode Materials, sorting out fundamental mechanism obstacles restricting material performance improvement.
Gu Qingwen, R&D Head of Fuli’s Cathode Business Division, presented Exploration of Industrialization Applications of High-Capacity Lithium-Rich Manganese-Based Cathode Materials, systematically analyzing core technical bottlenecks spanning material microscopic mechanisms and large-scale engineering production.
Academic research focuses on fundamental mechanism optimization and performance enhancement, while industrial R&D concentrates on scalable manufacturing, long-term performance stability, and cost control. The in-depth integration of academic theories and industrial practice has advanced lithium-rich manganese-based material research beyond simple laboratory data verification, moving toward practical mass-production feasibility evaluation.
On the anode material front, Ji Jingjing, Head of Fuli’s Silicon-Carbon Anode Business Division, shared engineering solutions for silicon-carbon anode challenges including volume expansion, electrode structural stability, and cycling consistency in the report Exploration of Industrialization Applications of Low-Expansion Silicon-Carbon Composite Anode Materials.
Jiang Chunhua from the Power Lithium Battery Business Division of the National Graphene Innovation Center introduced joint R&D and industrial service progress in developing ultra-high-energy-density power batteries based on lithium-rich manganese-based cathodes and graphene-composite silicon-carbon anodes.
Most notably, the forum released not only forward-looking technical research directions but also tangible production capacity progress closely linked to commercial supply.
Fuli confirmed the completion and stable operation of a 1,000-ton-grade lithium-rich manganese-based cathode demonstration production line, with construction and iteration underway for future 10,000-ton-scale capacity expansion. Meanwhile, the company’s 300-ton-per-year graphene-composite vapor-phase nano silicon-carbon anode production line has been officially commissioned.
These achievements shift industry discussions from “whether qualified lab samples can be produced” to “whether stable, consistent batch supply can be realized on an industrial scale.”
Scientific Reconstruction: Decoding Atomic-Scale Performance Decay Mechanisms
According to Fuli’s disclosed technical roadmap, the industrialization breakthrough of lithium-rich manganese-based materials relies on two core capabilities: accurate interpretation and effective modulation of performance decay mechanisms, and the transformation of theoretical optimization methods into scalable, controllable mass production processes.
Fuli’s solid technical confidence originates from long-term in-depth basic scientific research. As early as 2008, the power battery research team led by Researcher Liu Zhaoping at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, launched targeted research on lithium-rich manganese-based material optimization.
Atomic-Scale Observation: Uncovering Microscopic Structural “Scars”
Leveraging advanced in-situ Bragg Coherent Diffraction Imaging (BCDI) technology, the team pioneered atomic-scale real-time observation of structural evolution during the charge and discharge cycles of lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials. The research confirmed that massive lattice dislocations and microscopic defects are generated during the charging process. The continuous accumulation of these atomic-scale structural “scars” directly leads to macroscopic battery voltage decay and performance degradation.
Counter-Intuitive Thermal Shrinkage Discovery
The team identified an unprecedented physical phenomenon: within the temperature range of 150℃ to 250℃, degraded material unit cells do not expand; instead, they present a unique negative thermal expansion, or “thermal shrinkage” effect. Researcher Liu Zhaoping explained that this phenomenon reveals a spontaneous structural self-repair process, in which material lattices transition from a disordered state back to an ordered, stable state.
Electrochemical Annealing Technology: Realizing Full Battery Performance Rejuvenation
Based on this groundbreaking discovery, the team published an innovative electrochemical annealing strategy in the top international journal Nature. Requiring no external physical heating, the technology realizes nearly 100% voltage performance recovery through intelligent BMS tuning and precise shallow charging control at specific voltage windows. This fundamental breakthrough resolves the long-standing cycle life bottleneck of lithium-rich manganese-based materials, eliminating the core theoretical barrier restricting large-scale industrialization.
Engineering Leap: Precision Manufacturing Empowers Atomic-Level Structural Stability
Fundamental scientific discoveries lay the theoretical foundation, while sophisticated precision engineering is essential to transform gram-level laboratory samples into ton-scale commercial products. Fuli has deployed systematic microscopic optimization solutions for material interface and structural stability.
ALD Atomic Layer Coating: Hundred-Kilogram-Scale Nano Armor Protection
To suppress interfacial side reactions and metal ion dissolution, Fuli has developed the world’s first large-scale ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) coating equipment customized for lithium-rich manganese-based materials. The equipment continuously deposits a uniform protective layer of approximately 10 atomic layers on cathode particle surfaces. The technology raises the material’s initial Coulombic efficiency to over 90% and greatly enhances structural and cycling stability.
Gas-Solid Interface Modification: Solving High-Voltage Gas Evolution Problems
Fuli’s team developed a proprietary surface oxygen defect regulation technology to address severe gas evolution issues under high voltage. By constructing controllable structural defect zones on material surfaces, the technology stabilizes lattice oxygen at the source and significantly inhibits high-voltage electrolyte decomposition and side reactions.
World’s First Low-Carbon 1,000-Ton Demonstration Line Operational
Supported by key municipal science and technology projects and social capital, Fuli completed the construction of the world’s first zero-emission, low-carbon 1,000-ton lithium-rich manganese-based cathode demonstration production line in 2022. The company is currently the global only supplier capable of stable batch delivery of high-capacity 300mAh/g lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials.
Cathode-Anode Synergy: High-Silicon Anodes Building Ultra-High Energy Density High Ground
Cathode material breakthroughs alone cannot support 500Wh/kg ultra-high energy density batteries; high-performance anode matching is equally critical. Fuli’s NGC series silicon-carbon anode materials achieve a silicon content of up to 56%, far exceeding conventional industry levels.
NGC-1900A (High Initial Efficiency Grade): The product achieves an initial charge-discharge efficiency of 94%±0.5% and a delithiation capacity of 1900mAh/g. It minimizes active lithium loss during battery activation and fully releases the high-capacity advantages of lithium-rich manganese-based cathodes.
NGC-1900B (Low Expansion Grade): It controls full-charge electrode expansion below 42%, delivering outstanding competitiveness for long-life, high-safety power battery applications.
Through the precise matching of high-capacity lithium-rich manganese-based cathodes and ultra-high-performance silicon-carbon anodes, combined with solid-liquid hybrid electrolyte technology, Fuli supported Zhongqi Xinneng to successfully develop 500Wh/kg-grade battery cells, forming a complete industrial closed loop from material innovation to vehicle system integration.
Future Outlook: Forging China’s Global Leadership in Next-Generation Battery Materials
From laboratory incubation in 2016 to vehicle-level commercial verification in 2026, the past decade has witnessed Ningbo Fuli’s transformation from a research team to a global leader in high-specific-energy battery materials, as well as China’s power battery industry shift from passive followership to active global leadership.
“Our goal is to write our research achievements on real industrial products,” said Researcher Liu Zhaoping at the forum. “The lithium-rich manganese-based technology route represents leapfrog industrial breakthroughs driven by original basic scientific discoveries. The 500Wh/kg vehicle installation is only the starting point. We will further boost battery energy density by combining 1500mAh/g-grade silicon-carbon anodes with all-solid-state electrolyte technologies.”
In terms of employee incentives, Fuli announced that founder Liu Zhaoping plans to transfer tens of millions of yuan worth of equity held in the company’s shareholding platform to core employees, sharing the enterprise’s development dividends with its technical and management team.
The successful vehicle-level application fully proves the broad application prospects of lithium-rich manganese-based battery technology in new energy vehicles, consumer electronics, and low-altitude eVTOL fields. With the continuous maturity of Fuli’s 1,000-ton production line and the upcoming construction of the 10,000-ton industrial base, China has established solid global influence and technological discourse power in next-generation battery core materials.
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