"Can AI help solve the problems of long research and development cycle, high cost and low efficiency of battery materials?" At the 2024 World Power Battery Conference held recently - the special conference of global advanced battery foresight technology, E Weinan, an academician of the CAS Member and a professor of Peking University, raised this problem as the opening speech. This symposium focuses on the latest breakthroughs and key issues in cutting-edge technology, creating an industry recognized academic and professional highland. How to move towards a "new" direction for power batteries has become a hot topic among attendees. In the keynote speech of "AI for Science Helps the New Quality Development of Battery Materials Technology", E Weinan introduced how AI can assist battery research and development from three aspects: AI empowered intelligent experimental mode, establishment of multi-scale physical models for battery materials science, and AI high-precision automatic recognition. Based on this, he gave two suggestions: to establish a battery research foundation platform and to establish an AI enabled intelligent and automated battery experimental platform. Sun Huajun, CTO of BYD Lithium Battery Co., Ltd. in Shenzhen, believes that continuous technological innovation is necessary. In terms of material design, material screening, battery automation design, process manufacturing quality control, battery management, etc., the application of AI can improve design efficiency and even create opportunities for new materials and systems. Chen Zhongwei, vice chairman of the International Academy of Electrochemical Energy Sciences and researcher of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, said that electrochemical energy is an important intersection of many new productivity emerging industries such as low altitude economy, new energy vehicles, hydrogen energy, artificial intelligence, etc. To this end, their team has conducted research in battery technology, fuel cell technology, and hydrogen hybrid battery technology, pointing out that lithium-ion batteries still face significant application demands such as wide temperature range, high safety, and high specific energy. Thanks to its superior high energy density, high safety, and long cycle life, all solid state batteries are considered the most promising next-generation battery technology. At the meeting, the attendees engaged in lively discussions on topics such as solid-state battery technology roadmap, development stage assessment, mass production timeline, and application scenarios. At present, all solid state batteries are in a critical stage from research and development engineering technology to mass production. Yu Huigen, Chairman of Beijing Weilan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., believes that in the large-scale production and application of solid-state batteries, it is necessary to focus on ensuring the consistency of battery cell performance. This is a key prerequisite for solid-state batteries to be truly applied to automotive power batteries and eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) batteries. From the current progress of research and development, the capacity of all solid state batteries can reach the level of 5-10 ampere hours, and it is expected to undergo small-scale verification in 2027. Li Jin, the head of the Battery R&D Department at GAC Aion New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd., stated that there are still many technical challenges to overcome for the implementation of solid-state batteries in vehicle applications. He predicts that 2027-2030 will be the stage of small-scale demonstration and operation of solid-state batteries. At the meeting, Academician Ouyang Minggao's workstation released three research reports: "Research and Trend Outlook on Advanced Battery Frontier Technologies", "Analysis of Key Resources and Supply Chain of Power Batteries", and "Carbon Footprint and Green Circulation of Power Batteries". With rich research results and industry insights, they provided insights into the progress of cutting-edge technology innovation, industrialization trends and patterns, and provided decision-making references for various enterprises in the industry chain, top-level planning of government departments, and industrial investment. (New Society)