Phylion To Focus On E-Bike Manufacturers

SUZHOU, China – Moister control is one of the key fundamentals in the production battery cells. Together with consistency, these are the two most essential elements that make the quality of e-bike batteries. For e-bike battery supplier Phylion these two elements are a key part of their production strategy.

Phylion is one of the first lithium-ion battery players on the e-bike market in Europe. After some years of experience, the company opened an European office already in 2009. At that time, the Netherlands was their main market in Europe with a strong focus on e-bikes. As inclined in the name, the company only produces high power lithium ion batteries. The name Phylion derives from the ‘Physics research institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for Li-Ion’ which is based in Suzhou. Its products are mainly applied in electric vehicles (EV) and light EVs like e-bikes and e-scooters as well and in energy storage’. Since the company was founded in 2003 it has supplied various products and services to no less than 5.2 million light EV customers, 35 thousand EV customers and various industrial projects all over the world. Last year Phylion supplied some 500,000 battery packs in Europe as well as 650,000 units for the Chinese e-scooter market. Since they started to distribute batteries for electric vehicles in 2014 in combination with the rapidly expanding European e-bike market, the company’s turn-over increased quickly from 59 million euro in 2015 to 195 million euro last year. Also for 2018, Phylion reports to expect an increase in turn-over between 80 and 100 percent.

Production expansion

To keep up the market growth, Phylion opened an all new factory in 2012 followed by the construction of additional halls in 2016 as well as in early 2018. Today Phylion employs some 1,900 people. Only recently Phylion announced the construction of another factory in four phases, in the city of Chuzhou. The first one should be operational by end of 2019. About 65 percent of today’s production of Phylion battery packs for the European market is made up of premium Japanese and Korean brands cells. The remaining 35 percent comes with Phylion made cells, of which the production is a complicated and high-tech process. The conditions inside the production facilities are strictly regulated as for example the humidity of the room is limited to two percent to prevent any moister in the foil of which the cells are made of. Next to the quality laboratory, Phylion also operates a second, fully separate, laboratory to perform safety tests. “Our in-depth knowledge of materials and cells, together with our extensive testing facilities allows us to validate the outsourced cells we use in our battery packs. Thus it helps to ensure the reliability and stability of our products.” says Luc Liu, Vice General Manager LEV Division at Phylion.  “The in-house production of cells also gives us a competitive advantage,” As no less than 60 to 80 percent of the price of a battery pack is made up of the production of the cells excluding raw materials, it is obvious how important an in-house battery cell production is for a company like Phylion. 

Consistency is key in the production of e-bike batteries.

Future market strategies

As a 15 years experienced professional manufacturer of lithium-ion power batteries, Phylion has been actively promoting the global industrial layout and will build overseas production bases in Europe and South Asia. These factories will include pack assembly in the first phase and then cells production in second phase. “The undefined antidumping action of European Union on electric bikes is not only a challenge but also an opportunity for Pyhlion. And it will help us to speed up our overseas layout.” says Luc Liu.

The future goal of Phylion is not only to be a leading manufacturer of e-bike batteries, but also a high-end supplier in the field of e-scooter, three-wheel LEV, four-wheel LEV global wide. 

Today some 30 percent of our business comes from e-bikes in Europe,” said says Luc Liu, Vice General Manager LEV Division at Phylion.

Written By Jan-Willem van Schaik (Chief Editor of Bike Europe)