Blending is expected to become one of the development directions of battery factories

Cobalt prices continued to move higher in 2018, rising 26 percent in the first quarter, according to Jibang new energy research center. Blended Polymer of NMC may become one of the main developing directions of battery factory under the pressure of cost.

The rapid development of new energy vehicles has driven the price of cobalt metal to record highs. According to statistics, in 2017, the price of cobalt metal rose from 32 US dollars / kg to 75 US dollars / kg, an annual increase of 114%. In the first quarter of 2018, the price of cobalt metal reached a new high of 95 US dollars / kg, an increase of 26%. Due to the speculation in the market, the price trend of cobalt metal is not determined by the relationship between supply and demand, but unilaterally depends on the supply side. The skyrocketing price of cobalt metal has led to a significant increase in the purchase cost of battery cells and battery cathode materials plants. System plants and brand factories are more dependent on large manufacturers, thus making the market lose its original diversified supply and healthy competition.

The continued rise in the price of cobalt metal has had a certain impact on the development of the new energy automobile industry, and it has also forced the system and brand factories to accelerate the development of more advanced material alternatives. In addition to high-nickel products, the mass production of lithium batteries using silicon oxide as a negative electrode material is also imminent.

In addition, Jibang Consulting believes that under the pressure of cost, NMC Formula Blended Polymer may become one of the main development directions of battery manufacturers. The data show that the use of NMC formula mixed with lithium cobalt cathode material (LCO), although the battery energy density is reduced by nearly 20% than LCO, but can effectively reduce costs, including Samsung, LG (Lejin Chemical), lishen and other major Cell suppliers have proposed hybrid blending solutions. However, since the application of NMC materials on polymer batteries still faces the problem of improving the expansion ratio, the industry has not yet accumulated complete R&D experience. However, Jibang Consulting stressed that if the price of cobalt metal declines rapidly in the future, whether there is still market value in formula blending, further observation is needed.

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