Power battery material competition: BYD manganese vs Tesla graphene

    Density is not inferior to ternary materials? BYD's next-generation battery technology focuses on lithium iron manganese phosphate

　　At the China New Energy Vehicle Industry Three Basic Projects Conference held in Shaoshan, Hunan on August 3 and hosted by China Science and Technology Investment Management Group Co., Ltd., Wang Chuanfu, President of BYD Co., Ltd., accepted an exclusive interview with the media. He believed that the market expectations for the BYD Qin car far exceeded their expectations, which brought great pressure on production capacity; in terms of new battery technology, BYD has been conducting research and development of new batteries and new materials.

　　How does BYD arrange the production capacity of new energy vehicles? Can it meet the needs of the market? BYD currently uses the lithium iron phosphate technology route. What other technology routes will it choose in the next step?

　　Wang Chuanfu replied that BYD is now facing a bottleneck in production capacity because it was somewhat cautious in its market forecast and did not judge that the BYD Qin model would be so popular in the market. Therefore, the current production capacity is far from keeping up with the supply.

　　BYD Qin has sold more than 6,000 units. The monthly production capacity is 1,000 units, but the number of orders per month is about 3,000 to 4,000 units, which is 3 to 4 times the production capacity. This has led to a serious shortage of BYD Qin market supply. This also shows that the market inflection point of new energy vehicles has arrived. BYD is now actively planning to cope with such market conditions, and will be able to solve the market supply problem at least early next year.

　　When it comes to the technical route of battery materials, BYD is currently in the direction of lithium iron phosphate, and will also study other technologies in the future. What we are currently studying is an improved version of the lithium iron phosphate route, called lithium iron manganese phosphate, which is to add manganese elements to the material. The energy density of this battery has reached the density of ternary materials. In addition, we consider the technical route of batteries based on the amount of minerals in the materials. Cobalt in ternary materials is a relatively rare metal with limited reserves on the earth, which causes the price of batteries with this element to not come down. The lithium iron manganese phosphate we chose is very rich in these elements on the earth and will not be exhausted one day, so we chose this route from an economic point of view. Of course, with the continuous development of battery technology, we may also choose other technical routes.

　　Graphene may become an ideal candidate material for Tesla batteries

　　Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an interview with a British automobile magazine that they are currently researching high-performance batteries, and Tesla cars will soon be able to travel 805 kilometers, an increase of nearly 70% compared to the current range. Tesla's innovation in battery technology will trigger the market's attention to materials that improve the energy density of lithium batteries. Graphene has high conductivity and good flexibility, making it one of the ideal candidate materials for flexible energy storage devices.

　　Flexible screens, lithium batteries, and supercapacitors are the three most attractive application areas for graphene in the short term. (1) Flexible screens will bring revolutionary changes to the field of consumer electronics, achieving perfect integration of mobile phones and tablets; (2) Graphene can be used as negative electrode composite materials and conductive additives for lithium batteries, increasing the specific capacity of lithium batteries from 370mAh/g to 540mAh/g, while significantly increasing the battery charging and discharging speed; (3) After the positive and negative electrodes of supercapacitors are replaced with graphene (originally graphite), their specific capacitance density and rated voltage can be greatly increased, while reducing the equivalent resistance of the capacitor.

    For lithium batteries, electrode materials are the key factor that determines their energy density. At present, the main types of negative electrode materials for lithium batteries are natural graphite (59%), artificial graphite (30%), mesophase carbon microspheres (8%) and other types (3%), and graphite negative electrode materials still occupy the mainstream position. Due to the limitations of existing technologies, the current mainstream negative electrode materials (such as artificial graphite, mesophase carbon microspheres, etc.) cannot significantly improve the energy density of lithium batteries. The negative electrode material market is in urgent need of efficient new materials.

　　Public data shows that in recent years, the research and development and application of new negative electrode materials such as graphene have begun to attract attention in the industry. Graphene is a new material and the thinnest known material. Due to its low resistivity, extremely fast electron migration, large surface area and good electrical properties, it is considered by scientists to be an ideal electrode material for lithium-ion batteries.

　　Research has shown that the application of graphene in negative electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries can significantly improve the capacity and high-rate charge and discharge performance of negative electrode materials. Graphene can prevent the aggregation of nanoparticles in composite materials, alleviate the volume effect during the charge and discharge process, and extend the cycle life of the material. The attachment of particles to the graphene surface can reduce the energy loss of the material in the process of forming the SEI film and reacting with the electrolyte.

　　In recent years, domestic universities and research institutions have conducted research on graphene materials, and enterprises have also begun to promote the industrialization of graphene negative electrode materials. In November 2011, Changzhou Sixth Element Materials Technology Co., Ltd. was established to produce graphene for lithium battery negative electrode materials. In April 2012, Dalian Lichang New Materials Co., Ltd. built a fully automatic graphene negative electrode material production line with an annual production capacity of 300 tons. The agency predicts that with the rapid development of graphene technology, the characteristics of graphene will increase the energy density of lithium batteries, thereby solving the range problem of electric vehicles.

　　The competition for power lithium battery materials: the battle of ternary materials between China, Japan and South Korea

　　After trying more than 300 types of batteries on the market, Tesla decided on the ternary lithium battery.

　　The reasons given by Kurt Kelty, director of battery technology at Tesla, are: greater energy density with better stability and consistency; can effectively reduce the cost of the battery system; small size but continuously improving controllability and safety.

　　It turns out that Kurt Kelty's choice was absolutely correct.

　　In the four years since Tesla's transition from its first model, the Roadster, to its most popular Model S, battery pack costs have fallen by about 44% and will continue to fall.

　　Now, the MODEL S has a range of 486 kilometers, a battery capacity of 85kWh (1kwh = 1 degree), and uses 8142 3.4AH (AH, ampere-hour, is one of the indicators reflecting the battery capacity) Panasonic 18650 batteries. Engineers evenly distribute these batteries in the form of bricks and slices, and finally form a whole battery pack, which is placed on the bottom plate of the car body.

　　Just on the 7th, Tesla released its first quarter financial report this year. CEO Musk said that Tesla has reached an agreement with Panasonic to build a super lithium-ion battery factory at a cost of approximately US$5 billion.

　　When Tesla MODEL S is speeding on the highway, the attention paid by all parties to ternary lithium batteries is increasing exponentially.

    Ternary polymer lithium battery

　　Refers to lithium batteries that use lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese ternary positive electrode materials as positive electrode materials. There are many kinds of positive electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries, mainly lithium cobalt oxide, lithium manganese oxide, lithium nickel oxide, ternary materials, lithium iron phosphate, etc. Currently, ternary material batteries have replaced the previously widely used lithium cobalt oxide batteries and are widely used in the field of laptop batteries.

　　"Those who use Apple and Android (smartphones) are good kids, because they have to go home on time every day... to charge their phones."

　　This widely circulated joke not only pokes fun at people's current heavy reliance on electronic products, but more interestingly, it also reflects an epidemic in the technology world - anxiety about small battery capacity and frequent charging.

　　When anxiety was spreading, Tesla appeared and brought a savior: the ternary lithium battery.

　　Before the "whirlwind" hit, discussions about batteries and charging issues were constantly magnified, far exceeding other features of Tesla cars. But soon, when the news that Tesla's most famous model MODEL S uses ternary lithium batteries (lithium batteries with nickel-cobalt-aluminum ternary materials as positive electrode materials) came out, the entire battery industry suddenly became clear.

　　This technology, applied to electric vehicles, has timely alleviated the "charging anxiety" of small electronic products from smartphones to wearable devices and even power banks. Lithium batteries have also officially entered the era of ternary materials.

　　Cathode Materials: The Heart of Lithium Batteries

　　Lithium batteries are everywhere in our mobile phones, watches, and tablets.

　　This product, which is widely used today, was first inspired by Edison, who used lithium metal and manganese dioxide to react and produce a discharge reaction.

　　After so many years of technological development and improvement, today, the basic components of a qualified lithium battery include shell, positive electrode material, negative electrode material, separator, electrolyte, etc. Among them, the positive electrode material plays a decisive role in the energy density, safety, cycle life, etc. of lithium batteries, accounting for 40% of the cost of lithium batteries, and its technological development has become particularly critical.

　　At present, the mainstream positive electrode materials include lithium cobalt oxide, lithium manganese oxide, lithium iron phosphate and nickel cobalt manganese oxide ternary materials. In terms of energy density, cost, safety, thermal stability and cycle life, the above mainstream positive electrode materials have their own advantages, which also leads to the differentiation of the technical routes of positive electrode materials for power lithium batteries.

　　But in any case, cobalt metal is an essential material for lithium batteries.

　　However, metallic cobalt is expensive and toxic. In recent years, both technologically advanced Japanese and Korean companies and domestic battery manufacturers have been committed to reducing cobalt in batteries.

　　Under this trend, the nickel-cobalt-manganese-oxide ternary material made of nickel salt, cobalt salt and manganese salt is gradually gaining popularity. From the perspective of chemical properties, the ternary material belongs to transition metal oxides, and the energy density of the battery is relatively high.

　　Although cobalt is still indispensable in ternary materials, its mass fraction is usually controlled at around 20%, which significantly reduces the cost. It also has the advantages of both lithium cobalt oxide and lithium nickel oxide.

　　As domestic and foreign manufacturers have continued to increase production in recent years, the trend of lithium batteries using ternary materials as positive electrode materials replacing commercial lithium cobalt oxide has become very obvious.

　　This new technology is fully applicable to everything from electric cars to smartphones, wearable devices or power banks.

    Tesla's big investment in ternary materials reaches a peak

　　Before Tesla, people knew very little about ternary materials.

　　It was not until Tesla announced that it would use ternary materials as the positive electrode material for its popular high-end sports car MODEL S that this technology was gradually widely recognized. Now it has become the development direction of future power batteries.

　　Public data shows that the Tesla Model S has a range of 486 kilometers, a battery capacity of 85kWh, and uses 8,142 3.4AH Panasonic 18650 batteries. Engineers evenly distribute these batteries in the form of bricks and slices to form a battery pack, which is located on the bottom plate of the vehicle.

　　Everything has two sides. Although nickel-cobalt-aluminum has high energy density, its high-temperature structure is unstable, resulting in poor high-temperature safety. In addition, high pH values ​​can easily cause the monomer to swell, which can lead to danger.

　　In the end, Tesla solved the safety issues of ternary lithium batteries through an effective power management system, and made the unit cost much lower than other electric models, at about US$416/kWh.

　　Tesla said on the 7th that it has signed a letter of intent with Japan's Panasonic to jointly build a super battery factory, and the project is expected to start next month.

　　Tesla announced in February this year that in order to meet the needs of mass-produced electric vehicles, it will build a super lithium-ion battery factory at a cost of approximately US$5 billion. It is expected to meet Tesla's annual production of 500,000 electric vehicles, and the cost of battery packs per kilowatt-hour will be reduced by more than 30%.

　　Tesla released its first quarter financial report on the 7th. CEO Musk said that Tesla and Panasonic have signed a letter of intent to jointly build a super battery factory, and the two parties have formed a research and development team for battery production.

　　Panasonic is currently Tesla's main battery supplier. According to the agreement signed by the two parties in 2011, Panasonic will provide Tesla with 640 million automotive-grade lithium-ion batteries within four years. This supply volume was later increased to 1.8 billion.

　　Tesla has not yet finalized the final site for the battery factory, and the candidate sites include five states: Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and California. Musk said that in order to minimize the risk of delays, Tesla will build a battery factory in at least two locations.

　　Tesla said in its latest financial report that the global market demand for Models all-electric vehicles is growing rapidly, and the company will deliver 35,000 vehicles this year. Tesla's current production capacity is nearly 700 vehicles per week, and it is expected to increase to 1,000 vehicles per week by the end of this year.

　　Panasonic invested $30 million in Tesla in 2010 and became one of its shareholders. In 2011, the two companies reached a strategic agreement to supply batteries for all Tesla vehicles in the next five years.

　　A person in the battery industry told the reporter that in view of the cooperation between Tesla and Panasonic in ternary material batteries, and Tesla's large-scale construction of a super battery factory, ternary material batteries will enter a new peak of development in the future.

　　It is worth noting that in addition to Tesla MODEL S, there are reports that Chevrolet Volt uses ternary cathode material batteries provided by LG Chem. The battery shelf life is 8 years and the range can reach about 160,000 kilometers. In 2011, Chevrolet Volt set out from GM China headquarters in Jinqiao, Shanghai, passing through various road conditions and completing about 248 kilometers of uninterrupted driving on provincial roads, which also proved the high efficiency of this battery to a certain extent.

　　"Although the mainstream view of domestic electric vehicle manufacturers (such as BYD) is still to insist on using lithium iron phosphate (material manufacturers such as Tianjin Stellan Technology) batteries, some battery manufacturers have clearly followed the footsteps of Japanese and Korean companies and focused on ternary materials," said a researcher.

　　It is foreseeable that with the popularity of electric vehicles in the future, the demand for ternary materials will further increase. Moreover, ternary materials will also occupy a place in composite battery materials to better balance cost and performance.

    Japan and South Korea are leading in technology, and Chinese companies are busy catching up

　　From a global perspective, all parties are continuously advancing the research and development and production of ternary materials. In this process, the performance of materials has been greatly improved and the application areas have been repeatedly expanded.

　　In August 2009, US President Obama announced a $2.4 billion subsidy to support companies in developing the "next generation" battery and electric vehicle program, and ternary material battery manufacturers were included in the subsidy scope.

　　In February 2012, my country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "12th Five-Year Development Plan for the New Materials Industry", proposing that by 2015, the production capacity of positive electrode materials will be increased by 45,000 tons/year, and that the development of nickel-cobalt-manganese ternary battery positive electrode materials with high efficiency, large capacity, long life and safety performance will be organized.

　　However, up to now, the production technology of high-end ternary materials is mainly concentrated in Japanese and Korean companies. Some well-known battery manufacturers have started to use ternary materials in an all-round way since 2010.

　　According to some data, the performance of Japanese ternary material batteries is even close to that of lithium cobalt oxide batteries. The fact that they are favored by Tesla also proves that the ternary materials provided by Japanese manufacturers are of high quality.

　　From the supply perspective, Nichia Chemical, South Korea's L&F and Belgium's UMICORE are the world's major suppliers of lithium battery positive electrode materials. In 2012, the combined market share of the above three companies was 36%.

　　Domestic production of ternary materials started around 2005, and as of now, there are about 10 large-scale enterprises, including some listed companies.

　　Many companies have maintained long-term upstream and downstream cooperation relationships with Japanese and Korean battery companies, and some companies have obtained authorized OEM services from the US 3M Company. Overall, these companies still face great limitations in the manufacturing and application of ternary material technology, and almost no products are aimed at the power battery field, making it difficult for them to compete head-on with Japanese and Korean companies.

　　A recent news report shows that Chinese companies have finally started to get involved in the field of power batteries. Leading renewable energy company GEM recently announced that its holding subsidiary Jiangsu Kailike Cobalt Co., Ltd. has acquired 59% of the equity of Qingmei Tongda Lithium Energy held by Qingmei Chemical Co., Ltd., Nagase Industry Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Xinming International Trade Co., Ltd. for 52.982 million yuan in cash.

　　The key research and development direction of Qingmei Tongda Lithium Energy includes ternary cathode materials. The company's executives recently revealed that the nickel-cobalt-manganese ternary battery material project is already underway and are optimistic about the application of ternary materials in the field of new energy vehicles.