China's first national standard for automotive solid-state batteries, GB/T 43568-2026 (Solid-State Batteries for Electric Vehicles - Part 1: Terminologies and Classification), took effect on July 1, 2026, drawing a hard line under the industry's loose "semi-solid" and "solid-state" marketing. To earn an all-solid-state designation, cells must undergo a six-hour vacuum bake at 120 C, with residual liquid electrolyte capped at 5% of total cell mass, TechNode and CarNewsChina reported.
Standard forces factory-floor reality check
The standard splits the sector between suppliers with certified GWh-scale lines and those still commissioning pilots. Doctex has brought a Tianjin GWh-class plant online producing 350 Wh/kg cells that can drop straight into production vehicles, extending range roughly 15% to 20% at the same pack footprint. Saike Power is still in primary construction on its open-source 0.1 GWh sulfide pilot line in Yibin, with machine testing pushed into late 2026.
Dongfeng and Gotion lead OEM race
Dongfeng Motor Group is scaling a 0.2 GWh solid-state plant ahead of vehicle integration in H2 2026, disclosing 350 Wh/kg oxide-polymer hybrid cells that support up to 1,000 km of range. The company said its cells survived 170 C oven-bake tests and retained 72% of capacity in low-temperature trials in Mohe, and it plans to deploy 100 demonstration vehicles across Hubei before broader commercialisation. Changan and Geely are on track to complete vehicle validation and pack integration by the third quarter. Gotion High-Tech completed pilot verification using 100% domestic slot-die coaters and high-pressure rollers, cutting capex against imported lines.
Watch the pace, not the ceiling
Analysts flagged that upgrading existing lines can pull the projected 59.2 billion yuan ($8.73 billion) equipment bill lower, while CATL, in a recent reality check, has said mass-market solid-state remains years away because of interface-resistance quirks that classic liquid packs still avoid. Even so, the standard is expected to accelerate coordination across cell makers, foundries and OEMs and pushes forward previously optimistic rollout timelines from firms including Stellantis and Factorial, Donut Lab and Paladin Power.
Reporting based on coverage from CarNewsChina, TechNode, Electrek and China's National Automotive Standardization Technical Committee.