Date: 2026-10-23 hits: 102
In the second half of the year, several manufacturers of small cylindrical batteries are seeing a significant ramp-up in production capacity. ATL (Amperex Technology Limited) subsidiary Poweramp (New Energy Amperex) has announced that the capacity for its P40 series has reached an impressive scale—in the hundreds of millions of units. Meanwhile, Ruien New Energy recently launched mass production on its second winding and assembly line at its Changzhou facility. Established players in the small cylindrical battery sector, such as BAK Battery and Great Power, have also long since joined the fray.
Beyond their domestic production bases, companies like EVE Energy and Tianpeng (a subsidiary of Blue Lithium Core) are actively pushing to bring overseas capacity for small cylindrical batteries online.
Notably, the mass-produced offerings from nearly all these companies share a common technical feature: the "full-tab" (or tabless) design.
Previously, intensive development of full-tab technology was primarily focused on large cylindrical batteries, with only a handful of industry leaders capable of stable, large-scale delivery.
Following the advent of mass production for full-tab large cylindrical batteries last year, the underlying technology has been rapidly adapted for small cylindrical production lines—though the integration process takes time. While early movers like Poweramp and Blue Lithium Core have been able to ramp up capacity relatively quickly, the broader market for full-tab small cylindrical batteries is currently seeing production fully utilized to meet demand, with supply struggling to keep pace. Consequently, battery manufacturers are aggressively expanding their production capacity.
The challenges involved are twofold.
First, there is a simultaneous surge in demand across both traditional and emerging sectors—including power tools, embodied AI, battery backup units (BBUs), robotics, and eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft). As the performance of conventional small cylindrical batteries falls short of these new requirements, full-tab technology is rapidly stepping in to fill the gap.
Second, the technological upgrade presents significant manufacturing hurdles. Issues such as ensuring consistency and achieving high yields with full-tab designs have been the focus of intense effort over the past two years, and fine-tuning production lines requires time. After all, 2025 is widely considered the true "year one" for the mass production of full-tab large cylindrical batteries.
Consequently, driven by both technological evolution and a convergence of demand across diverse applications, the capacity shortfall for full-tab small cylindrical batteries is unlikely to be resolved immediately. As battery manufacturers ramp up production, these cells will increasingly be integrated into a wide range of end-use products; the current supply-demand imbalance is expected to begin easing between the second half of this year and next year.
The Democratization of Full-Tab Technology
The original purpose behind "tabless" (full-tab) technology was to enable the scaling up of cylindrical batteries—increasing both their physical volume and their energy density.
This development was driven by a strategic bet made by Tesla. In the early days, the traditional 21700 small-format cylindrical cell was the battery of choice for the Tesla Model 3.
However, the cost of connecting thousands of these small cells in series and parallel was prohibitively high. Elon Musk—a man obsessed with simplification and a proponent of his own "idiot index" philosophy—set a goal: to create batteries that were larger, more powerful, and more affordable. Yet, traditional tab designs could not support such scaling; longer electron flow paths led to increased internal resistance and greater heat generation.
Following 2020, the development of tabless technology for large-format cylindrical cells became a global focus for battery manufacturers, with mass production validated by 2025. Once this major technical hurdle was cleared, the technology began to be extended to smaller cylindrical cells as well.
When a new technology delivers comprehensive improvements in power output, range, and safety, the end market is typically quick to adopt it.
Furthermore, the manufacturing innovations spurred by large-format tabless cylindrical cells have also accelerated the adoption of this technology in smaller cells. Transitioning tabless small-format cylindrical batteries from the laboratory to large-scale mass production has required a systematic "manufacturing revolution."
At the heart of this revolution lies the challenge of tab forming and welding. The industry is actively refining two primary approaches to tab forming: "flattening" (pressing tabs flat) and "cutting-and-folding."
The flattening method offers superior internal resistance performance but carries a higher risk of metal debris, which can trigger self-discharge. The cutting-and-folding method reduces the risk of debris but is less compatible with the cylindrical cell architecture.
To address these challenges, domestic equipment manufacturers—such as Yifei Laser and Haimoxing—have introduced specialized, high-precision, and highly efficient intelligent assembly lines. For instance, the production line efficiency at Yifei Laser has increased significantly—
from a traditional 50 PPM to over 300 PPM, or even reaching the 400 PPM mark.
A full-scale surge in non-automotive sectors.
A Comprehensive Surge in Non-Automotive Sectors
As traditional applications deepen and emerging use cases flourish, "full-tab" (all-tab) small cylindrical batteries are addressing key pain points across various end-use devices—thanks to improvements in capacity, discharge rates, safety, and cost. This has paved the way for a new wave of market penetration beyond the passenger vehicle sector.
First, the shift in electron transport pathways has led to increased power output. Full-tab designs significantly shorten the path for electron flow, drastically reducing internal resistance and boosting battery discharge rates. This fundamentally transforms the energy supply conditions for applications that rely on high-current, instantaneous power delivery.
Consequently, full-tab small cylindrical batteries are poised for large-scale adoption in areas such as power tools and electric motorcycles—a trend driven largely by the transition from gasoline-powered equipment to electric alternatives.
On one hand, the integration of full-tab technology enables the development of high-voltage platforms using small cylindrical cells, allowing them to effectively replace AC-powered and gasoline-powered tools.
On the other hand, as lithium-ion batteries power DC-based tools, the enhancements provided by full-tab technology—in terms of volume, weight, and energy density—offer significant improvements over older nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, bringing the performance of lithium-ion solutions on par with gasoline-powered equipment. Notable products in this category include the JP40 from Ampace, the 40PL from EVE Energy, the 40D from BAK Battery, and the 40XG from Tenpower.
Second, the safety and cost optimizations offered by full-tab designs are enabling expansion into new application scenarios.
Regarding safety, some full-tab small cylindrical cells have passed rigorous "nail penetration tests," demonstrating high levels of safety under extreme conditions. Furthermore, the robust steel-casing structure of cylindrical cells ensures stability, making them resistant to swelling or deformation.
Crucially, the reduction in internal resistance—achieved through the full-tab design—mitigates the risk of localized overheating and thermal runaway at the source.
It is also worth noting that the exceptional safety profile of full-tab small cylindrical batteries has facilitated the development of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) variants, which are well-suited for applications such as battery backup units (BBUs).
In terms of cost, the highly standardized cylindrical form factor is well-suited for large-scale, automated manufacturing. Although mainstream manufacturers have yet to reach a consensus on specific "full-tab" (all-tab) production techniques—such as the precise methods for flattening and cutting/inspecting tabs—the overall costs are falling rapidly. This decline is driven by maturing processes, improved yields, and the scaling up of production volumes.
The ongoing cost optimization of full-tab small cylindrical batteries is accelerating the large-scale commercial adoption of technologies in emerging sectors—such as embodied AI, drones, and eVTOLs—where total system costs remain high.
In terms of product offerings, companies like Ampace (with its JP30 and JP50 series) are covering a wide range of applications, from small to large-scale humanoid robots, while Ruien (with its RS50 high-nickel series) is also positioning itself within this market segment.
Regarding performance, full-tab small cylindrical batteries leverage a synergistic combination of high-nickel ternary cathodes and advanced silicon-carbon anodes. This enables energy densities to exceed 300 Wh/kg, while supporting continuous discharge rates of 10C or higher.
In summary, through breakthroughs in high-end manufacturing equipment, innovative process pathways, and the intelligent integration of entire production lines—coupled with surging demand across diverse use cases—the full-tab small cylindrical battery is evolving from a challenging "concept" into a practical, high-quality, and scalable reality.
