The rise of ternary lithium batteries and how to develop lithium iron phosphate batteries?

Affected by the ban on passenger cars in 2016, lithium iron phosphate has become the mainstream in new energy buses. Thanks to the rapid development of new energy buses, lithium iron phosphate accounts for more than 70% of the total shipments in 2016. Share.

At present, the domestic power battery is mainly divided into two factions, which are divided into lithium iron phosphate and ternary materials according to the difference of the positive electrode materials.

Comparison of types and properties of cathode materials

Ternary material fire

In terms of output, ternary materials have become the segment with the highest growth rate of cathode materials. According to statistics, the output of cathode materials in China was 210,000 tons in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 30%, including 8.6 million tons of ternary materials and iron phosphate. Lithium 58,000 tons, lithium cobalt oxide 45,000 tons, lithium manganate 21,000 tons, ternary materials to replace 2016 lithium iron phosphate to become the highest growth rate of cathode materials in 2017, benefiting passenger cars to replace passenger cars to become important new energy vehicles the amount.

From the perspective of raw materials, since 2017, the price of metallic cobalt has skyrocketed, and cobalt for ternary batteries has become the fastest growing and space-demanding area for cobalt. The ternary cathode material should rise in response to the rising cost pressure. Battery manufacturers use the cathode material technology to coordinate with the ternary cathode material layout, buffering the impact of raw material price increases, and mastering upstream resources. The ternary materials have a larger profit margin than lithium iron phosphate, and many companies have laid out ternary materials.

How does lithium iron phosphate open its own meridians?

1. Technical breakthrough to solve the problem of low energy density

The lithium iron phosphate battery refers to a lithium ion battery using lithium iron phosphate as a positive electrode material. The ternary material lithium battery refers to a lithium battery using lithium cobalt manganate as a positive electrode material and graphite as a negative electrode material.

Unlike lithium iron phosphate, the voltage platform of the ternary lithium battery is very high, which means that the specific energy and specific power of the ternary lithium battery are larger under the same volume or weight. In addition, ternary lithium batteries have great advantages in terms of large rate charging and low temperature resistance.

It can be seen from the above figure that the energy density of lithium iron phosphate is the lowest. In the latest subsidy policy, 120Whkg for passenger cars and 115Whkg for passenger cars have become an important watershed. Only when they are satisfied can they be doubled. Under the stimulus of the policy, promoting technology upgrades has become one of the keys to the break of lithium iron phosphate.

In the work of improving the energy density of lithium iron phosphate batteries, the improvement of the anode material is also a key link. At present, in addition to graphite, other materials that may improve the performance of the negative electrode material, including silicon and various oxide additives, are added to the current conventional graphite. This is a relatively feasible method, and now many companies have In use.

2, cost control, fast charge technology breakthrough, breaking the ternary bus to lift the ban

Affected by the ban on passenger cars in 2016, lithium iron phosphate has become the mainstream in new energy buses. Thanks to the rapid development of new energy buses, lithium iron phosphate accounts for more than 70% of the total shipments in 2016. Share. In 2017, with the unification of safety standards, the passenger car began to lift the ban with three yuan, but there are still few adopters. However, with the introduction of the subsidy policy in 2018, the three yuan re-entered the declaration list.

Does this mean that the ternary world is coming back? In fact, the answer is not clear. After the relevant standards are determined, the security problem of the ternary is no longer needed, but the inertia of cooperation and technology, coupled with the limitations of the bus market, the new energy bus industry. Development gradually encountered ceilings. Moreover, for commercial vehicles, energy density is not a primary concern, and cost, operational efficiency, and the like are more apparent.

In the lithium battery enterprises, the two-level differentiation has increased. Ningde era, BYD, and Watmar have occupied the market share. These three companies have an absolute dominant position in the new energy bus and special-purpose vehicles market. From the perspective of market share, there is still a lot of room for lithium iron phosphate.

3, the use of ladders, to solve the problem of recycling difficult

With the end of the life of lithium iron phosphate batteries, recycling has become a major problem. Compared with the ternary battery, lithium iron phosphate has low recovery rate, lacks profitability, and even recovers recycled materials. This leads to the recovery of lithium iron phosphate battery, which not only does not bring benefits, but also becomes a drag.

In 2018, the new regulations for power battery recycling were issued to clarify the main body of recycling and responsibility. Battery companies are also actively researching greener and economical recycling technologies. Only by supplementing this short board, lithium iron phosphate can only be used on the road of sustainable development. Go further.

At the same time, the use of ladders and the development of new markets have become a top priority for battery companies. After the subsidies have subsided, the cost and utilization efficiency have become the core of market attention.

The page contains the contents of the machine translation.