The market size of lithium iron phosphate battery communication is up to 800 billion yuan

Lithium-iron phosphate batteries are becoming increasingly popular because they are more energy efficient than lead-acid batteries. At present, lithium-iron phosphate batteries are mainly used in electric vehicles, and have gradually entered the communication industry in the past two years. Of the three carriers, China mobile has a relatively large use of lithium-iron phosphate batteries, while China TELECOM and China UNICOM are more cautious. The main factors affecting the large-scale use of lithium-iron phosphate batteries are high price and reliability concerns.

The tender of China Mobile have prospects

In terms of performance, the life of lithium-iron phosphate battery is much longer than that of lead-acid battery. The average cycle life of lead-acid battery is about 300 times of charge and discharge, while that of iron-lithium battery can reach more than 2000 times. In addition, iron-lithium batteries are safer, do not explode, and can achieve large current rapid charge and discharge. At the same time, more resistant to high temperature lithium-iron phosphate battery, electric heating peak of up to 350 ℃ to 500 ℃, in practical applications, the use of the incubator can cancel batteries.

At the end of 2010, HENAN province company of China mobile group launched the centralized bidding for the purchase of lithium-iron phosphate battery, which was the first centralized bidding within the scope of China mobile. ZHANG  LE, director of the operations and maintenance department of HENAN mobile network, said the company had already conduced a small-scale trial of the lithium-iron phosphate battery and had "good results". It is understood that the bidding for lithium-iron phosphate battery is actually commissioned by HENAN mobile by China mobile, and the products purchased will not be limited to HENAN mobile applications.

This is a big fat piece of meat.

According to their previous market research, the market size of China mobile's existing ordinary lead-acid batteries could reach 800 billion yuan if they were replaced by lithium-iron phosphate batteries.

"At least 2-3 more years of trial." The person in charge of a battery manufacturer that was shortlisted for the bidding of HENAN mobile said, "if the trial effect after the centralized procurement of China mobile is good, then the large-scale application will start in 2-3 years; If the trial results are not satisfactory, then it will be delayed.

High price network application time is insufficient

At present, the primary factor affecting the large-scale application of lithium-iron phosphate battery is price. Mainstream lithium-iron phosphate batteries currently on the market cost two to three times more than lead acid batteries on average, or even more than five times. If iron-lithium batteries do have a 10-year lifespan, the return on investment is ok compared with the two-year life of lead-acid batteries. But in practice, operators still find current prices too expensive.

"If the price is twice as high as the lead-acid battery is acceptable, it's not worth it." China TELECOM network product support department, said Du min. China TELECOM has several provincial companies experimenting with lithium-iron phosphate batteries, which are relatively modest, ranging from a few hundred to a thousand groups, each with a capacity of no more than 50 kilowatt-hours.

In addition to price, the lack of sufficient actual data is another important reason why operators are temporarily reluctant to use lithium-iron phosphate batteries on a large scale.

According to Du, there are at least three stages for a new product to be put into mass use. The first is that there can be no theoretical problems. Secondly, the aging test data are needed to support. Third, the need for a certain amount of time and scale of the network trial.

In theory, lithium-iron phosphate batteries are safer and more reliable than lead-acid batteries. The cycle charging and discharging life can reach 10 years, which can solve the problem of high pollution and short life of the latter. However, in terms of the aging test data, the current lithium-iron phosphate battery does not provide enough reliable data support. As for the current network application, the longest trial period of the lithium-iron phosphate battery in the communication industry is only about two years, and it cannot be concluded that it can be used on a large scale.

However, Chen Ming Jun does not agree that the lack of sufficient data support is the main reason affecting the use of lithium-iron phosphate battery operators. "The reason they don't want to use it is because of 'political' reasons." With new technology, what happens if something goes wrong? If you use the old technology, you don't have to take responsibility if things go wrong.

Chen Ming Jun is the chairman of SHEN ZHEN SHAN MU battery group. SHAN MU battery is the first domestic enterprise to realize the mass production of lithium-iron phosphate battery. The current daily output can reach 100,000 hours. He said that there is sufficient data to prove that the performance of lithium-iron phosphate battery is far better than lead-acid battery, can replace lead-acid battery.

As for the operators' concerns about "the price is much higher than that of lead-acid batteries", Mr Chen says it is not a problem. "It's not a problem that the price is twice as high as the lead-acid battery. Five times." "Chen Ming Jun said.

It is known that although the domestic lithium ore reserves are very rich, the raw materials required by the lithium-iron phosphate battery are synthetic materials, while the production equipment and technology of domestic suppliers cannot keep up. The good manufacturers of lithium-iron phosphate battery are all imported raw materials from abroad. At present, the price of imported raw materials from abroad is more than 120,000 yuan per ton, while domestic raw materials are relatively cheap, only 70,000 to 90,000 yuan per ton, but the quality of the battery product is not as good as the former.

In addition to raw materials, the price of production equipment also varies. In the case of the COATER, this is the second step in the production of lithium-iron phosphate batteries. The price of a set of domestic coating machine in the million, and if the use of imported equipment, the price is tens of millions.

Waiting for electric cars

ZHANG  SHU ZHI, a professor at the China mobile group design institute, believes that lithium-iron phosphate batteries will not be widely used in the communications industry in the short term. Although HENAN mobile has started centralized procurement, Mr ZHANG  said it was still an experimental application. Mr ZHANG said.

In fact, the current operators do not even for the lithium-iron phosphate battery network testing standards. The lack of standards, on the other hand, confirms that no operator has the intention of introducing lithium-iron phosphate batteries on a large scale.

At present, lithium-iron phosphate battery manufacturers mainly focused on the electric vehicle market. The state's support policies for electric vehicles have been quite obvious. A draft of the 12th five-year plan for electric vehicles has been drawn up, and various regions have launched trials of electric vehicles. At the just-concluded TIAN JIN international automobile BBS, minister of science and technology wan gang made it clear that the next five years will be a critical period for the transition from scientific research to industrialization of electric vehicles, and also a key period for China to make this strategic emerging industry bigger and stronger.

That may be a good thing for the communications industry. The huge demand for iron-lithium batteries in electric vehicles will promote the rapid improvement of related technologies and the rapid decline in prices, and the number of manufacturers entering this field will also increase significantly. By then, the communications industry on the lithium-iron phosphate battery trial has accumulated sufficient network experience, the price of the appropriate lithium-iron battery and a large number of optional manufacturers will be "available". After all, for the communication industry hundreds of billions or even trillions of potential market, smart manufacturers will not give up anyway.

The page contains the contents of the machine translation.