250: Chapter 250 Factory Inspection

Meanwhile, on the other side, the expert team from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had arrived at Transsion Auto's car factory as early as April 23rd.

The group of seven was led by Zhao Tiesheng, a 62-year-old veteran expert in the domestic automotive industry.

After retiring, he was rehired by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and was specifically responsible for inspecting the production qualifications of new-force car manufacturers.

Zhao Tiesheng's strictness was famous within the industry.

The previous two new-force car companies had both been held up by him.

One was because the precision of its stamping workshop was insufficient, and the other was because the quality inspection process of its assembly line did not meet the standards.

Both were required to undergo rectification, and the one with the shortest delay was held up for three months.

Taiwan Novel Network is super easy to use and very comprehensive.

Therefore, when Transsion Auto announced it would undergo inspection, many people in the industry were waiting to see a joke.

"Transsion is just a phone maker; can they pass Zhao Tiesheng's check?"

"Zhao Tiesheng doesn't even think much of traditional car companies, let alone a new force."

"Just wait and see. They'll need at least half a year of rectification. They still want to go public? Maybe a PPT launch instead?"

But Shen Fei didn't think so. After all, to pick out problems, there must actually be problems.

Before the inspection began, he said to Zhang Bin, "Show them everything we've got."

"We aren't afraid of them looking; we're only afraid they won't look."

Zhang Bin did as he was told.

On the first day, the inspection team looked at the stamping workshop. Transsion Auto used Schuler stamping lines, which were on the same level as Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

This was a resource snatched from Mercedes-Benz through their status as a shareholder.

On the second day, the inspection team looked at the welding workshop.

To ensure quality, Transsion Auto used over 600 Kuka robots, achieving an automation rate of 95% and guaranteeing a 99.5% pass rate.

Zhao Tiesheng watched for a long time again, still without saying a word.

Two days of silence also allowed Zhang Bin to set aside his worries.

The old man wasn't as unreasonable as the internet said; it was obvious that those people online were deliberately slandering him.

[Zhang Bin: I am not buttering him up.]

On the third day, the inspection team checked the assembly line. From chassis installation to interior assembly, and from glass installation to tire tightening, every process had a data traceability system.

Such a high-end configuration finally made Zhao Tiesheng speak.

"Who built your traceability system?"

"We developed it ourselves," Zhang Bin replied.

"You built it yourself?" Zhao Tiesheng was clearly a bit skeptical. "Aren't you guys phone makers?"

"Phones need traceability too. Every chip, every screen—it's all traceable from raw materials to the finished product. We've been working on this system for three years."

Zhao Tiesheng said nothing more, his eyes full of admiration.

The others also came to the traceability system again, examining the equipment closely; it was indeed reliable.

Some asked tentatively.

"General Manager Zhang, if you ever decide to sell this system one day, what price do you plan to set?"

"Pricing?" Zhang Bin didn't understand the implication at first. He scratched his head in embarrassment, "I'm just a factory manager; pricing isn't my concern. Besides, whether or not to sell it depends on the chairman's decision. Why don't you ask them?"

The other members didn't ask further, and Zhao Tiesheng nodded.

On the last day, the inspection team wanted to see the battery pack production line. This was Transsion Auto's core technology, and the High-density battery was the car's main selling point.

The production line was also in the area with the strictest security in the entire factory. Entering and exiting required passing through three security checkpoints, and mobile phones were not allowed inside.

Wang Mengyang, the developer of the High-density battery, personally welcomed them.

"Team Leader Zhao, please, this way."

Zhao Tiesheng walked into the workshop, and the first thing he saw was the automatic welding robot.

Dozens of robots were working simultaneously, sending up bursts of sparks, their rhythm extremely precise.

"Who provides your battery cells?"

"We make them ourselves, using our newly developed High-density battery."

"What about the pack?"

"We make those ourselves too. The battery pack is our absolute core secret. To ensure safety, we produce everything in-house, and we can ensure the entire chain is independent and controllable."

A hint of surprise appeared on Zhao Tiesheng's face. He walked to a production line, watching the battery modules moving along the conveyor belt.

He suddenly turned his head to look at Wang Mengyang.

"Professor Wang, what is the energy density of your battery pack?"

"Team Leader Zhao, I'm no professor. However, the energy density is currently 210Wh/kg."

Zhao Tiesheng and his team members looked at Wang Mengyang in disbelief.

"210? The current industry average is only 120. You... you've doubled it."

Zhao Tiesheng and his team were only responsible for inspecting the production line; as for the battery energy density, they were unaware.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had also intentionally kept it quiet; after all, a battery with 210 watt-hours per kilogram was already a strategic weapon that had to be well protected.

After all, the larger the battery volume or capacity, the harder it is to make, and increasing energy density is even more difficult.

Although it had long been rumored that Transsion's mobile phone battery energy density had broken through 180, that only required one or two cells, and as long as they didn't cut corners, heat dissipation wasn't a problem.

But vehicle battery packs were different; small cells generate less heat and dissipate it quickly.

But when they are combined into a large battery pack, it's different. Heat accumulation can easily lead to overheating, swelling, a sharp drop in lifespan, and a risk of fire.

Moreover, a battery pack is composed of thousands of cells; if even one is weak, the entire battery pack will be dragged down.

The larger the battery pack, the harder it is to control consistency.

At this moment, Wang Mengyang took out a test report and handed it to Zhao Tiesheng.

"Moreover, we use CTP technology, where the cells are integrated directly into the battery pack, eliminating the module structure and increasing the overall lifespan by 20%."

Besides the advantages mentioned above, CTP technology also eliminates the dead weight of module casings and brackets, allowing more cells to be packed into the same volume, which improves range.

Combined with the High-density battery from Transsion's Battery Division, the overall weight can be reduced by about one-third.

With fewer parts, assembly steps are simplified, production efficiency is higher, and costs are saved.

It also allows the cells to integrate with cooling components, dissipating heat faster, reducing temperature differences between cells, improving consistency, and slowing down battery degradation.

This technology was already very mature before he was headhunted; they had already reached 7.0 at that time. What is being used now is just the first-generation technology, but that is enough; otherwise, everyone else would be scared away.

It wouldn't be fun then; after all, being invincible is also a kind of loneliness.

Zhao Tiesheng picked up the report and read it page by page. His expression changed from calm to serious, and from serious to surprised.

"Your nail penetration test..."

This wasn't originally part of his job, but now he really wanted to know.

"It passed," Wang Mengyang said, pointing to another report. "Single cell nail penetration: no fire, no explosion. The battery pack nail penetration is the same."

Zhao Tiesheng voluntarily gave a thumbs up.

He had been in this industry for over 30 years and had been involved with batteries for over 10 years, so he knew how difficult the nail penetration test was.

To ensure life safety, it's basically like looking for bones in an egg; there are no more than three companies in the country whose battery packs can pass the nail penetration test.

Transsion Auto is one of them.

"What about your extreme cold test?" He looked at Wang Mengyang again, fearing he might overthink it, and quickly explained, "This isn't part of today's agenda; I'm just personally curious. If it's inconvenient, you don't have to introduce it..."