Liyang Tianmu Pilot Battery Materials is investing a total of 4 billion yuan in Zhoushan to build a production facility for next-generation high-end silicon-carbon anode materials

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Recently, Liyang Tianmu Pioneer Battery Materials Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Tianmu Pioneer”) signed a cooperation agreement with the Zhoushan High-Tech Industrial Park to jointly establish a production facility for next-generation high-end silicon-carbon anode materials. The total investment in this project amounts to 4 billion yuan, and it will be carried out in phases. With an initial investment of 1 billion yuan, a production line for high-end silicon-carbon anode materials with an annual output of 10,000 tons will be built; it is expected that the annual output value after commissioning will reach 2 billion yuan. It is understood that Tianmu Pioneer is not a new enterprise that emerged suddenly. Over the past two decades or so, the team led by Academician Chen Liquan and Researcher Li Hong from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has carried out continuous research on aspects such as silicon nanostructure design, coating composites, adhesive systems, and conductive networks, thereby developing material systems with engineering potential. In 2018, Tianmu Pioneer, established based on the achievements of this team, became the only industrialization platform for silicon-based anode materials at the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The company subsequently built pilot plants and production lines in Jiangsu, and after years of testing, its products have been able to be shipped on a stable basis. Compared to graphite, silicon has a theoretical specific capacity of nearly 4200 mAh/g, which is more than ten times that of graphite; however, volume expansion and cycle stability have always been the key obstacles to its commercialization. In terms of the technical approach, Tianmu Pioneer utilizes its own developed \"multi-level structured silicon-carbon composite system\", which achieves a balance between high specific capacity and long cycle life through the synergistic optimization of nano-silicon, carbon coating layers, and conductive networks. According to available information, its core products can undergo over 1,000 cycles while maintaining an initial capacity of >85%, and they possess competitive advantages in terms of energy density, fast charging performance, and temperature tolerance. This performance range is sufficient to meet the demands of both electric vehicles and consumer electronics, providing an engineering validation basis for the company’s future capacity expansion. From a market trend perspective, silicon-carbon anodes are entering a critical stage of transitioning from the \"validation phase\" to the \"large-scale production phase\". Over the past two years, as the demand for higher energy density in complete vehicles has increased, silicon-carbon systems have been rapidly adopted by various battery manufacturers. Companies such as CATL, BYD, and Samsung SDI have already adopted silicon-carbon composite anodes in varying proportions in high-end power batteries and consumer batteries. According to statistics from GGII and EVTank, the global market size for silicon-carbon anode materials was approximately 2.2 billion yuan in 2024, and it is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan by 2027. The driving force comes mainly from two directions: first, the accelerated industrialization of solid-state and semi-solid-state batteries creates a strong demand for high-capacity anodes ； Secondly, leading battery manufacturers are increasing the silicon content in 800V high-voltage fast-charging platforms to overcome the performance limitations of graphite-based systems under high charging rates. Against this backdrop, companies with mature engineering systems and stable delivery capabilities will be the first to benefit. Tianmu Pioneer has established mass-production partnerships with various leading clients such as CATL, ATL, BYD, Samsung, LG, EVE Energy, and Sinova Energy, and has also entered the supply chains of solid-state battery companies like Weilan New Energy. This coverage of different customer segments indicates that its products are used in a wide range of applications, from consumer electronics to power systems, energy storage solutions, and low-altitude devices, which in turn demonstrates the stability and compatibility of its technology. Although silicon-carbon anodes are regarded as an advancement over graphite, the barriers to their industrialization are much higher than those for graphite. Currently, a multi-level competitive landscape has emerged in China, with companies such as Tianmu Pioneer, Betray, Putailai, Shanshan Co., Ltd., and Xiangfenghua playing key roles. From a technical perspective, some companies use a nano-silicon powder combined with carbon coating systems, emphasizing cost advantages ； Some companies are focusing on high-performance areas such as CVD silicon carbon, redox silicon, and silicon oxide coating. Currently, silicon-carbon anodes are breaking through the boundaries of traditional electric vehicles and 3C products to enter the field of diverse energy equipment. Taking embodied intelligent robots as an example, one of the core challenges is battery life and energy density. Traditional graphite systems are unable to sustain high-power output over extended periods, whereas silicon-carbon anodes can increase the energy density by more than 20% within the same volume, providing lighter and more efficient power solutions for smart robots, drones, and specialized equipment. Similar trends are also emerging in electric ships and low-altitude economy equipment. High capacity, fast charging, and long lifespan have become the key requirements for new power systems, and the introduction of silicon-carbon anodes meets these industry needs. From the laboratory to plants with a production capacity of tens of thousands of tons, silicon-carbon anodes have made the transition from a scientific challenge to an industrial application. In the future, as the global new energy market continues to shift toward high-energy-density systems, companies that possess core manufacturing skills and supply chain advantages will hold a key position in the next round of technological competition. Silicon-carbon anodes, this key material, are moving from a \"phase of technical development\" into a full \"phase of industrial application\".