Is It Better To Use Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries For New Energy Vehicles Or Nickel-cobalt Batteries?

Anyone who has a certain understanding of current new energy vehicles knows that the biggest barrier to the development of new energy vehicles is that it is difficult to make progress in battery technology that provides battery life. Because the manufacturing cost of new energy batteries remains high, most new energy vehicles can’t make significant progress in their limited cost in terms of their battery life, which greatly restricts their application scale and greatly reduces their competitiveness compared to traditional fuel vehicles. Governments of various countries have to spend great efforts to subsidize new energy vehicles.

Therefore, the importance of the development of new energy battery technology to new energy vehicles is almost equal to the importance of engines and gearboxes for traditional fuel vehicles.

1. New energy vehicle battery classification

One type is energy storage batteries. The lithium batteries we often talk about fall into this category. One type is fuel cell, which is used by Toyota Mirai. There are many types of energy storage batteries, such as lithium batteries, lead-acid batteries, sodium-sulfur batteries and so on.

Lithium batteries are the most widely used. Among them, lithium batteries are divided into ternary lithium batteries, lithium iron phosphate batteries, lithium titanate batteries, etc. Ternary lithium batteries are widely used in passenger cars because of their relatively high energy density. Manufacturers include foreign Panasonic and LG, domestic Ningde era and BYD; lithium iron phosphate is generally used in passenger cars because of its outstanding safety, and the representative manufacturer is BYD.

Lead-acid batteries are no longer used as power batteries in cars. Because they are not environmentally friendly, they have been eliminated.

2. lithium iron phosphate batteries are sought after

The cost competitiveness, safety and low sensitivity to commodity price dynamics of lithium iron phosphate batteries have made it increasingly popular in my country's electric car market.

BYD, my country’s largest manufacturer of new energy cars, indicated that one of its new SUVs will use the latest cobalt-free batteries in the middle of this year. The company stated in a statement that its latest SUV BYD Han will use lithium iron phosphate batteries, which can travel more than 600 kilometers per charge, which is equivalent to the driving distance of nickel-cobalt batteries.

According to reports, lithium iron phosphate batteries are 20% cheaper than nickel batteries. Lithium iron phosphate battery chemical mixtures are cheaper because of their simple synthesis and low cost of materials used. Other batteries that use materials such as nickel, manganese, aluminum, and cobalt are more complex, and the prices of these metals fluctuate greatly.

The recovery of lithium iron phosphate batteries in the top electric car market also shows that as governments and global car manufacturers struggle on the road to global car electrification, battery skills and customer concerns are far from being addressed.

The reason why nickel-cobalt batteries are favored by shopping malls is that they have a long battery life on a single charge, which solves the problem of "distance anxiety" for customers to stay away from electric cars. For example, the new battery pack plans developed by CATL and BYD can increase the range of electric cars using lithium iron phosphate batteries, thereby improving the competitiveness of lithium iron phosphate batteries and nickel-cobalt batteries.

3. nickel-cobalt batteries are the ultimate winner

Nevertheless, people may not last long to use lithium iron phosphate batteries. According to Morgan Stanley, the medium-term demand for lithium iron phosphate batteries will rise, but as nickel-cobalt batteries become more advanced, lithium iron phosphate batteries will eventually be replaced. It is estimated that the cost of nickel-cobalt batteries will drop by 20 in the next three years. %.

According to a Reuters report earlier this month, in order to reduce costs, Tesla is intensified negotiations with Ningde S.A. on the supply of lithium iron phosphate batteries. Tesla declined to comment, and a spokesperson from Ningde Times stated: "We can provide our customers with suitable and competitive solutions."

It is foreseeable that whether it is a single cell or a battery pack, the energy density is constantly increasing, and the cost of the battery is also falling rapidly. Therefore, in the future, the range of new electric vehicles will continue to increase, and the price will continue to drop. The threat of competition to fuel vehicles will continue to deepen.