As a niche application field with lithium batteries, TWS headphone market is releasing unprecedented growth vitality.

Recently, the exposure of a new patent of Huawei TWS earphones has attracted wide attention in the industry. The new earphones adopt in ear design, and the back of the earphones may be intelligent touch sensors. The novel design may make this TWS headset a new growth pole in Huawei's headset sector.

Gaogong lithium battery learned that the lithium battery of this headset is likely to come from Yiwei lithium energy.

As the domestic leading enterprise of TWS headphone battery, Yiwei lithium energy has also performed strongly in the field of TWS headphone battery recently. In the 2.5 billion yuan fund-raising plan released on March 9, 1.05 billion of which is intended to be invested in TWS bean battery project.

It is worth mentioning that Samsung, the world's top three in terms of TWS headphone shipments in 2019, also launched its latest TWS headphone buds from Yiwei lithium energy, with a single endurance of 11 hours, setting a new record for the endurance of all TWS headphones at present.

In fact, driven by the phenomenal effect of Apple's air pods, TWS headphones have become a gimmick product for mobile phone manufacturers such as Samsung, Huawei, oppo, vivo and Xiaomi, as well as major headphone manufacturers such as Jabra, qcy, Bose and JBL.

Industry research data show that in 2019, the global TWS headset market exceeded expectations, reaching 130million sets, and lithium battery shipments exceeded 260million; It is estimated that the shipment volume will exceed 230million sets in 2020, and the corresponding lithium battery shipment will exceed 460million.

It is worth mentioning that the world is currently suffering from the impact of the COVID-19. The manufacturer of lithium battery for TWS headphones said to high tech lithium that the first quarter was mainly a process of capacity recovery and climbing, and the TWS headphone market will be affected in the short term.

As the impact of the COVID-19 is still unpredictable, the shipment of TWS headphone batteries may not meet expectations this year. However, the medium and long term is still good.

Market space may be affected to some extent

The rapid growth of TWS headphones year by year is opening up huge growth space for the lithium battery of TWS headphones.

Statistics from counterpoint show that in 2019, the global shipment of TWS headphones reached 130million sets, with a year-on-year increase of 124%, and the corresponding lithium battery support reached 260million (excluding rechargeable batteries). It is estimated that the global shipment of TWS headphones will reach 230million sets in 2020, with a year-on-year increase of 77%, driving 460million lithium batteries.

Gaogong lithium battery learned that at present, the unit price of TWS headset battery in the top market is 15-20 yuan / piece, the medium and high-end market is 7-15 yuan / piece, and the low-end (Shanzhai) market is less than 5 yuan / piece. Taking the middle value of the medium and high-end market as 10 yuan, this means that the market space of TWS lithium battery is expected to reach 4.6 billion yuan in 2020.

Recently, however, TWS headphone lithium battery manufacturers told Gaogong lithium that due to the global impact of the COVID-19, TWS headphone battery orders were affected in the first quarter, and orders from international customers slowed down.

Some manufacturers also said that the impact of the first quarter was not significant, and most of the production was last year's orders. However, due to the impact of the epidemic in the first quarter, the production capacity recovery experienced a climbing process, and the current order volume is still relatively stable.

Industry insiders believe that this year was originally expected to be a big year of rapid growth in the consumer electronics market. Due to the unpredictable impact of the epidemic, it is expected that this year's TWS headset battery shipments may not meet expectations. However, from the perspective of industry development logic and overall trend, the medium and long-term development of TWS headphone battery is still good.

Button battery will become mainstream

At present, lithium batteries for TWS headphones are mainly divided into headphone batteries and rechargeable compartment batteries. In terms of morphology, the earphones are mainly bean batteries; Semi earphone batteries are mainly needle batteries and polymer soft pack batteries; The charging compartment battery is mainly polymer soft wrapped square battery.

From the perspective of trend, button battery has the characteristics of high energy density and space saving compared with needle battery and polymer soft pack battery. Button battery will be the main application of medium and high-end TWS headset battery in the future.

At present, the mainstream manufacturers of button batteries include Yiwei lithium energy, Penghui energy, Zijian Electronics (VDL), Guoguang electronics, Zhijian technology, Ganfeng lithium, etc.

In the high-end market, top manufacturers mainly include apple, Samsung, Bose, etc., which basically adopt Valta products. Yiwei lithium can successfully support Samsung. With the increase of product performance, capacity and cost, it is expected to seize part of Valta's market share.

According to the bean type lithium ion battery project plan of Yiwei lithium energy TWS application, the total investment is 1.16 billion yuan, and the construction period is 2 years. After reaching the production capacity, it will form an annual production capacity of 200million bean batteries.

In the medium and high-end market, GP is the main supplier of JBL TWS headphone batteries; Huawei, oppo, vivo, Xiaomi and other manufacturers basically use products directly supplied or OEM by Zijian electronics, Penghui energy, Guoguang electronics and other enterprises.

Gaogong lithium battery learned that at present, the annual production capacity of Penghui energy's button batteries is about 40million, and the company will decide whether to expand the production capacity according to the market order.

In the middle and low-end market, including walkers, white label manufacturers, etc., they have low price requirements, and most of them use soft packed polymer batteries.

Cross the patent threshold

Previously, due to the unique winding process of Valta button battery, the patent of button battery and its entry into the supply chain of international manufacturers have also become an insurmountable wall for domestic TWS batteries.

With the further breakthrough of technology, TWS lithium battery manufacturers actively improve patent applications to further eliminate market concerns.

Yiwei lithium energy said that although the company's bean battery is a winding process, it is significantly different from Valta in terms of sealing structure and pole piece production. At present, the company has formed 31 comprehensive patents, applied for Korean and European patents for its core technology, formed a complete patent group, and passed the PCT international patent application, with stable and reliable supply.

Gaogong lithium battery learned that after Yiwei lithium energy obtained the patent evaluation of TWS battery in early 2019, its capacity increased rapidly and won a large order for Samsung TWS headphones. On the one hand, it is due to the insufficient supply of Valta battery capacity; On the other hand, the company has prominent advantages in battery performance, production capacity and price supply.

GP also said that in terms of TWS earphone batteries, the company has formed its own independent structure, manufacturing and patent system. The core technologies of the company's "t" battery, such as electrode welding method and structural design, are different from Valta's patent protection route, and its internal structure and external structure are inconsistent with it, so its patent can be avoided.

It is reported that GP has submitted PCT international patent application at the end of 2018, and the patent examination time will take 18 months. It is expected that the results will be obtained after June this year.

In the long run, the global TWS headphones are developing at a high speed. Only by constantly iterating technology, forming a patent group of core technology, and realizing the supporting upgrading of production capacity and process, can domestic TWS headphone battery manufacturers win a larger market share in the world.

Article source:High tech lithium power grid