Electrical Equipment / Components & Telecoms

Compared with ternary battery, lithium iron phosphate battery has prominent cost performance advantages in recent years. Since this year, many international automobile enterprises have disclosed that they will launch electric vehicles using lithium iron phosphate battery, and overseas battery manufacturers have also said that they will cut into the field of lithium iron phosphate technology. All kinds of signs indicate that the lithium iron phosphate battery technology is further favored by the market.

Highly valued by overseas markets

According to the observation report of Huacheng import and export data, many overseas car enterprises have recently expressed their willingness to use lithium iron phosphate battery. Among them, Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, said that lithium iron phosphate battery would be considered for use in European electric vehicles because it is more competitive in cost. Recently, it was reported that Hyundai is considering using the lithium iron phosphate battery produced by Ningde Times on Kia's second generation Ray EV, which will be the first electric vehicle equipped with lithium iron phosphate battery launched by Hyundai.

In addition to vehicle enterprises, overseas battery manufacturers are also increasing the capacity distribution of lithium iron phosphate battery. Kore Power, an American battery start-up, predicts that the demand for lithium iron phosphate battery in the United States will continue to grow. The company plans to set up two assembly lines in its factory in Arizona by the end of 2024, one for the production of the current mainstream ternary battery in the United States, and the other for the production of lithium iron phosphate battery. Our Next Energy, an American battery start-up, recently announced that it will produce lithium iron phosphate battery in Michigan. With the $1.6 billion new factory put into production next year, the company will continue to expand, and provide sufficient lithium iron phosphate battery for 200000 electric vehicles by 2027.

Zhang Xiang, Dean of the New Energy Vehicle Technology Research Institute of Jiangxi New Energy Technology Vocational College, pointed out that: "Lithium iron phosphate battery, also known as cobalt free battery, does not need such rare metals as cobalt and nickel. On the contrary, cobalt and nickel are currently indispensable key elements in ternary lithium batteries. Due to limited resources, continuous exploitation will lead to price increases, and everyone has been looking for new alternatives. The decision to start using lithium iron phosphate in overseas markets is also made after analysis and investigation."

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, approximately 0.0017 tons to 0.0019 tons of ternary positive electrode materials are required for 1KWh ternary batteries. The current average price of ternary positive electrode materials is 360000 yuan/ton, which means that the cost of positive electrode materials for 1KWh ternary batteries is 612-684 yuan; The 1KWh lithium iron phosphate battery needs about 0.002t-0.0025t lithium iron phosphate material, and the current average price of lithium iron phosphate material is 150000 yuan/ton, that is, the cost of positive material of 1KWh lithium iron phosphate battery is 300 yuan - 375 yuan. Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Passenger Car Association, wrote an article saying: "From the perspective of cathode materials alone, the cost of lithium iron phosphate battery is about 310 yuan lower than that of ternary battery, that is, for a new energy electric vehicle, installing lithium iron phosphate battery is about 18600 yuan cheaper than that of ternary battery."

Continuously leading domestic technology

From a global perspective, only Chinese companies have been focusing on lithium iron phosphate battery materials. If foreign car companies want to use lithium iron phosphate, they will definitely choose Chinese products, "said Wu Hui, General Manager of the Research Department of Ivy Economic Research Institute.

Compared with foreign countries, domestic lithium iron phosphate battery technology has more advantages through long-term development and continuous breakthrough. "In the past two years, there has been great innovation in the technology of lithium iron phosphate battery in China. For example, before, the energy density was low and the endurance was short. Now BYD has introduced the blade battery, which not only maintains the advantages of lithium iron phosphate material in safety, but also makes up for the shortcomings of energy density through CTP technology. It is a product with comprehensive performance." Zhang Xiang pointed out that, "At present, domestic lithium iron phosphate battery has replaced the ternary lithium battery on a large scale, and Tesla has begun to replace LG's ternary lithium battery with the lithium iron phosphate battery of the Ningde era, and has achieved good results."

In addition, globally, the production capacity of lithium iron phosphate is mainly concentrated in China, and the construction of overseas lithium iron phosphate production capacity is still relatively small, lacking large-scale production capacity. With the continuous increase in overseas market demand in the past two years, domestic lithium iron phosphate products are gradually being laid out through export, local factory construction, and other channels. In February, Ford Motor announced that it would invest 3.5 billion dollars to build a lithium iron phosphate battery factory in Michigan, the United States. The factory will be provided with battery patent technology licensing, preparation and operation services by Ningde Times; Guoxuan High Tech has signed a memorandum of understanding with European battery manufacturer InoBat, which aims to jointly build a 40GWh battery capacity in Europe based on their respective advantages in the fields of lithium iron phosphate and ternary batteries. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

"It is a good opportunity for domestic lithium iron phosphate battery products and materials to be supplied overseas. Enterprises can use the advantages of domestic lithium iron phosphate industry to bind foreign customers. Even if they turn to the three-way route in the future, this supply channel will also help to further expand the overseas market." Wu Hui said.

Global share expected to increase

With the continuous innovation and development of lithium iron phosphate battery technology, its installed capacity in the international market is expected to further increase. It is understood that the power battery pattern in China will reverse in July 2021, and the installed capacity of lithium iron phosphate battery will officially surpass that of ternary battery, and it will reach 58.2% in the first quarter of this year. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

TrendForce Jibang Consulting, a research organization, said in the research report that lithium iron phosphate battery is expected to account for more than 60% of the installed capacity in the global power battery market in 2024 by virtue of its cost performance advantage and continuous technological progress.

"The market share of ternary lithium batteries will be further compressed in the future. Although the technology of ternary lithium batteries is also constantly innovating, the biggest problem is the need for cobalt and nickel, two trace element, which cannot be changed. In the absence of a new formula, the production and sales of ternary lithium batteries may become less and less in the future as the cost of raw materials rises, and only a few high-end cars and luxury cars may use ternary lithium batteries in the future," Zhang Xiang said.

It is also pointed out that in the future, with the further optimization of the material system and process, the energy density of lithium iron phosphate battery monomer still has a large room for improvement. In this context, domestic related enterprises have successively launched phosphate material system battery products with higher energy density and better low-temperature performance, including lithium manganese iron phosphate and M3P. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

Cheng Qian, Executive Vice President of Guoxuan High tech Global Headquarters, previously disclosed that the company plans to nearly double the energy density of lithium iron phosphate battery to 300Wh/kg by 2030, thus doubling the driving range of electric vehicles.