On July 15, 2025, GEM forged a strategic collaboration with the research team led by globally acclaimed energy materials scientist, Vice Director of the Technical Committee, China All-Solid-State Battery Industry-University-Research Collaborative Innovation Platform (CASIP) Academician Sun Xueliang—— a triple-academy fellow (Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering). The partnership will jointly focus on core technology breakthroughs for solid-state battery(SSB) cathode materials and collaborate to overcome industrial challenges in producing high-safety, high-energy-density batteries. By driving industrial innovation through scientific advancement and actively cultivating new quality productive forces, this initiative aims to secure China’s strategic position in the global solid-state battery industrialization race, bolster the surging wave of new energy revolution worldwide, and spearhead global energy transition and sustainable development.

▲ Professor Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM, accompanied Academician Sun Xueliang on a tour of GEM's high-nickel ternary NCM materials production workshop

Amidst the growing global demand for new energy vehicles, drones, and humanoid robots—— coupled with increasingly stringent battery performance requirements—— solid-state batteries have emerged as an industry R&D focus due to their superior energy density and enhanced safety. However, current limitations in ionic transport efficiency and structural instability at the cathode-solid electrolyte interface have established this “interfacial challenge” as the primary technical bottleneck for commercialization. As a global leader in urban mining and a driving force in the new energy industry, GEM has now forged a strategic alliance with Academician Sun Xueliang’s team under the principle of “sincere partnership, in-depth collaboration.” The parties have reached consensus on conducting profound R&D cooperation in cathode materials for solid-state batteries. GEM’s high-nickel ternary and lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials will be extensively utilized by Academician Sun’s team in solid-state battery prototype development, undergoing comprehensive performance testing through matching with halide, sulfide, polymer, and/or oxide solid electrolytes to thoroughly evaluate practical application performance and resolve interfacial challenges. Joint efforts will prioritize critical application metrics including cathode-electrolyte interfacial compatibility, ion transport efficiency, and structural stability, with subsequent iterative enhancements. By addressing core issues of cost, cycle life, and safety in solid-state batteries, this collaboration will support the endurance demands of new energy vehicles, drones, and robots while providing reliable power solutions for high-safety sectors like biomedical and aerospace applications-ultimately solidifying China’s leadership in the global new energy industrial chain.

▲ GEM's Advanced Cathode Materials for Solid-State Batteries

Furthermore, as Chief Scientist in the field of new energy materials technology at GEM, Academician Sun Xueliang will provide continuous technical guidance and support for the company’s key R&D projects, development of research systems, cultivation of international R&D talent, and high-quality advancement of postdoctoral research stations. Concurrently, Academician Sun will co-lead major scientific achievement initiatives such as GEM’s National Science and Technology Award nominations. Together, the parties will pioneer uncharted territories in new energy materials to create original, first-of-their-kind, high-end products. This collaboration aims to revolutionize the “Chinese Industrial Solution” in the global solid-state battery sector, consolidate competitive advantages in worldwide markets, and actively participate in global supply chain specialization.

As the world’s largest supplier of high-nickel ternary precursors, GEM initiated development of cathode materials for solid-state batteries as early as 2019. This includes high-nickel, ultra-high-nickel, and lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials, with comprehensive technological portfolio across multiple technical routes and breakthrough achievements. The company has now achieved industrialization of cathode materials for solid-state batteries.

This collaboration represents not only an alliance between an enterprise and a world-leading research team, but also signifies GEM's in-depth exploration into the industrialization of critical solid-state battery materials - accelerating its expansion across the global marketplace.

Profile

▲ Sun Xueliang

Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, Canada Research Chair (Tier 1), and Founding Editor-in-Chief of Electrochemical Energy Reviews (Impact Factor: 32). Currently serving as Chair Professor and Dean of the Institute of Matter and Energy at Ningbo Oriental Institute of Technology.

His research focuses on fundamental and applied studies of solid-state batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and fuel cells. In recent years, he has pioneered a series of original achievements in novel halide solid-state electrolytes and all-solid-state batteries. Academician Sun has published over 700 papers in authoritative journals including Nature Energy, Nature Communications, Science Advances, Joule, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Advanced Materials, and Energy & Environmental Science, with more than 80,000 citations and an H-index of 153. He holds 56 patents (26 granted) and has received prestigious awards including the International Battery Technology Award. Academician Sun is recognized as a Clarivate "Highly Cited Researcher" and ranks among the "Top 2% Most Influential Scientists" worldwide. He has led over 50 major research projects.

As a core leader of China's All-Solid-State Battery Industry-University-Research Collaborative Innovation Platform (CASIP), Academician Sun serves as Vice Director of its Technical Committee, playing a pivotal role in formulating China's solid-state battery technology roadmap and coordinating critical research initiatives. Among the world's foremost solid-state battery experts, he pioneered the halide electrolyte technological pathway, establishing fundamental theoretical and processing foundations that have advanced the entire solid-state battery ecosystem. His work exerts irreplaceable academic and industrial influence on the evolution of next-generation high-safety, high-energy-density battery technologies globally.

In 2021, Academician Sun was appointed GEM's Lifetime Chief Scientist in Ultra-Technologies for New Energy Materials. In 2024, he spearheaded the establishment of the Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of All-Solid-State Power Battery Technology and Application - jointly developed with global industry-academia-research partners including CATL. This laboratory focuses on overcoming core technological bottlenecks and fundamental application challenges for all-solid-state batteries in power batteries, low-altitude economy technologies, humanoid robots, and energy storage systems.