As the "alarm" for power battery temperature control, the temperature sensor plays an important role in effectively monitoring battery temperature changes, preventing overheating from causing thermal runaway of the battery cell or serious attenuation of lithium battery energy and power caused by too low environment, thus ensuring the safety and stability of power battery performance.

High end temperature sensors for domestic vehicles were previously monopolized by foreign investors for a long time, and more than 90% of high-end sensor chips were imported. But in the field of temperature sensors, this situation is being broken. Subsidies have declined, and the pressure on cost reduction has increased dramatically. At the same time, the strength of domestic automotive temperature sensor technology and products has risen, and the domestic replacement of automotive temperature sensors is speeding up.

According to the research on the new energy vehicle temperature sensor market by Gaogong Lithium Battery, it is found that at present, the domestic market share in the new energy vehicle temperature sensor market has reached 40%, of whichShenzhen Kemin Sensor Co., Ltd. ("Kemin" for short)The market share in this field has exceeded 25%, and this figure is expected to continue to rise next year.

   

Kemin is a national high-tech enterprise specializing in the research, development and production of temperature sensors. Its Shenzhen factory is a large research, development and production base for NTC thermistors and precision temperature sensors in China. The reliability of Shenzhen Kemin brand thermistors and temperature sensors independently developed has reached the international leading level, and its products have successfully passed the certification standard of AEC-Q200, the international passive component automobile quality certification.

Taking root in automotive temperature sensors for 8 years, Kemin products are widely used in new energy automotive batteries, air conditioners, water tanks and other fields. Its customers include new energy automotive enterprises such as SAIC Group, BYD, BAIC, Chery Automobile, JAC, Chang'an Automobile, Xiaopeng Automobile, and leading power battery manufacturers such as Ningde Times, Guoxuan Gaoke, Tianjin Lishen, Funeng Technology, AVIC Lithium, Wanxiang 123, Jiexin Power, and SAIC Times.

At present, it is imperative to reduce the cost of new energy vehicles, conduct pressure, and localize temperature sensors. Domestic manufacturers with independent research and development strength, product quality consistency, stability and reliability, and cost advantages will welcome new opportunities. As a leading enterprise of domestic vehicle temperature sensors, Kemin has made full layout and preparation in many fields such as technology, quality, productivity and cost.

Shenzhen Kemin's self-developed vehicle specification NTC thermistor chip products passed the international automotive quality AEC-Q200 certification in 2018, and is currently the only domestic certification manufacturer that has passed this standard, which once again confirms its strong technology and R&D strength.

At present, Kemin temperature sensors mainly include sensors of BMS thermal management system and water temperature sensors for battery packs in the field of power batteries. The former mainly controls the battery temperature, while the latter controls the battery water temperature heating system. The product series covers cell temperature sensors, cell film temperature sensors, flat wire temperature sensing modules, battery liquid cooling temperature sensors, battery heterogeneous temperature sensors, etc.

Kong Weiting, Chairman of KeminIt is emphasized that with its strong R&D strength and excellent product quality, Kemin temperature sensor has obvious competitive advantages, especially the stability of high-power, high voltage withstand NTC chip is at the leading level in the industry. Its car specification NTC chip mainly has three advantages: high stability, high withstand voltage and high current, which can completely replace similar products imported from Japan and South Korea.

Stability:If the drift rate of the resistance value of the thermistor chip is not easy to control, some of them will exceed the accuracy range in 3-5 years. Through technology, formula, production process and aging process, Kemin can control the resistance drift rate of the chip within 10-15 years, within the accuracy range. Kemin vehicle gauge temperature sensor promises customers that it will be highly stable in 10-15 years.

High withstand voltage:There was some misunderstanding about the voltage resistance of the battery pack before, thinking that it would not exceed 650V. However, some control systems will appear ultra-high voltage in the actual use process, which will lead to the breakdown of the NTC chip of the weak current, and eventually failure. The high voltage resistance of the finished sensor is generally above 3500V, which is relatively stable, while the highest withstand voltage of Kemin is above 4500V.

High current:Generally, the current of the NTC chip of the sensor in the vehicle is small, but the new energy vehicle will have a large current impact when charging, discharging or accelerating. If the chip has insufficient high current performance, the NTC chip will be burned directly. The current of Kemin NTC chip can work stably with high current greater than 20mA for a long time to meet the requirements of automotive NTC chip.

    Flat wire temperature sensor    

In addition, in order to cooperate with the market to reduce costs and increase efficiency, Kemin also actively cooperates with domestic leading battery enterprises to develop FFC temperature sensor modules, and realizes technical upgrading on the basis of its flat wire temperature sensors. Compared with traditional sensor modules and FPC, FFC has many advantages such as low cost, high safety, high reliability, etc. It is expected to supply customers in the short term.

With the advantages of independent core technology and process transformation to improve cost control, Kemin new energy sensor products have been recognized by high-quality customers such as BYD, SAIC, SAIC Times, Ningde Times, Guoxuan, AVIC, Funeng Technology, Lishen, Xiaopeng, etc.

Gaogong Lithium has learned that the customers of Kemin power battery, such as Ningde Times, Guoxuan, AVIC, Lishen, Funeng Technology and BYD, are among the top 10 enterprises in terms of installed capacity of power batteries in China, among which Ningde Times, Guoxuan, AVIC and BYD are among the top 10.

According to Kong Weiting, Kemin is the core supplier of BYD's new energy vehicles. 90% of Kemin's products are used, and at the same time, it has entered the Ningde era supply chain system. In the future, with the release of demand from these head power battery customers, the company's demand for temperature sensors will rapidly increase, further expanding the company's influence, and the market share of domestic vehicle temperature sensors will continue to increase. At present, the domestic market share of Kemin vehicle temperature sensors has exceeded 25%.

The domestic automotive temperature sensor market has broad prospects. At present, the number of temperature sensors used by single vehicles of different models is 20-140, and more are used by foreign high-end vehicles. The value of temperature sensors used by single vehicles is 200-500 yuan. If the use value of a single vehicle is 300 yuan and the volume of 10 million new energy vehicles is calculated, the market size of vehicle temperature sensors will reach 3 billion yuan.

In order to welcome the blue ocean of the vehicle temperature sensor market, Kemin has made an all-round layout in the fields of strategic planning, capacity layout, market development, etc. It is planned to set up a separate new energy vehicle business department, build R&D and production bases in Shenzhen and Hangzhou, and strive to build it into the largest R&D and production base for temperature sensors of new energy vehicles in China. In terms of capacity construction, its current capacity is 200000 pieces/day, and the preliminary plan is to reach 500000 pieces/day to meet the growing new demand of customers.

"In the future, Shenzhen Kemin will invest more resources in the material formula of thermistor NTC chip, the precision, reliability and automatic manufacturing of sensor products." Kong Weiting pointed out that Kemin strives to shoulder the banner of domestic substitution of new energy vehicle temperature sensors.