Another auto giant is about to use lithium iron phosphate (blade) batteries!

On February 20, there was a channel that reported that the new "No. 1 customer" visited BYD's Xi'an Fudi XAB factory. "The people who accompanied the 'No. 1 customer' to visit BYD's Xi'an battery factory included BYD Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu and BYD Group Vice President and Fudi Battery CEO He Long."

BYD has not responded to this incident.

According to information, the Xi'an Fudi XAB Factory belongs to the second business unit of Fudi Battery Co., Ltd. It is a newly built department dedicated to high-end technology and precision production. It covers an area of ​​87,400 square meters, has more than 2,500 employees, and mainly produces CELL/Pack products.

Earlier, it was reported that BYD's 20GWh dedicated blade battery project in Xi'an was officially put into production in December 2021. The objects of this "No. 1 customer" visit include blade batteries.

The "number one customer" this time is Ford

It is understood that since 2020, the media has repeatedly reported on BYD's "No. 1 customer", but BYD has never responded to this. However, being called "No. 1 customer" has three characteristics: first, the level is high, such as the first person in charge of the global or Chinese market from a globally influential vehicle company; second, the reception standard is high, with Wang Chuanfu or He Long personally accompanying and explaining; third, the intention for cooperation is high, and after the visit, it is not far from strategic cooperation.

In 2020, multinational automobile companies such as Daimler and Toyota visited BYD's battery factory as "number one customers". Subsequently, BYD reached cooperation in different directions with Toyota and Daimler respectively.

The number one customer who visited the Xi'an Fudi XAB factory this time used a mask with the logo "Mustang", which shows that the number one customer is Ford Motor Company.

Image source: SinoAuto

Based on the comparison of body shape and other characteristics, some media further pointed out that the number one customer is Chen Anning, Group Vice President and President of Ford Motor Company China, and President and CEO of Ford Motor (China) Co., Ltd.

Ford Motor's Mustang Mach-E needs to be replaced with lithium iron phosphate batteries . It is understood that in January 2022, the number of Ford Mustang Mach-E insured in the Chinese market was only 352. Prior to this, Ford Mustang Mach-E was selected as one of the most popular electric models by Consumer Reports, an authoritative magazine of American consumer culture. The sales volume of this model in the United States in 2021 was about 27,000.

Some media pointed out that currently BYD is the only Chinese battery supplier for Ford Mustang Mach-E. The battery type is ternary high-nickel 811 battery, and the products are mainly produced by BYD's Xi'an factory.

As we all know, all BYD models have been equipped with blade batteries, and it is very likely that Ford Mustang Mach-E will also be equipped with blade batteries in the future.

Ford's battery demand in 2030 is 240GWh

At the end of 2021, Ford Motor Company stated at its investor conference that the company plans to increase its electric vehicle production capacity to 600,000 vehicles per year within two years, becoming the world's second-largest electric vehicle manufacturer.

"Given the explosive growth in demand for the electric pickup F-150 Lightning, we can be optimistic about this goal." Lisa Drake, Ford Motor's chief operating officer, said Ford will maintain cooperation with five battery suppliers including BYD, CATL , SK On, LG Energy Solution, and Panasonic. "Our goal is to establish 240 GWh of production capacity worldwide by 2030."

In fact, Ford is making a comprehensive transition to electrification. According to the plan, by 2030, Ford's pure electric vehicle sales will account for 40% of its total sales (Ford's global sales in 2021 were 3.72 million units, ranking seventh in the world).

To achieve this goal, Ford Motor has increased its forecast for electrification business spending to more than $30 billion (about 200 billion yuan) by 2025. "We expect our commercial business revenue to increase from $27 billion (about 172.6 billion yuan) in 2019 to $45 billion (about 287.7 billion yuan) by 2025," Ford said.

Veken Lithium Battery noted that among Ford's top five power battery suppliers, Chinese companies BYD and CATL have outstanding lithium iron phosphate battery technology and production capacity. South Korean company LG Energy Solution is also developing lithium iron phosphate batteries . The new products will be in soft-pack form and are expected to be trial-produced in 2022. SK On is also currently developing lithium iron phosphate batteries for electric vehicles, mainly because of the interest of vehicle manufacturers.

Only the Japanese battery company Panasonic has not yet announced any news on the production of lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Lithium iron phosphate battery has returned to the throne

In the early stages of new energy vehicle development, lithium iron phosphate batteries occupied a mainstream position due to their economy, and their installed capacity accounted for as much as 70% between 2015 and 2016.

In December 2016, China included battery energy density in subsidy reference indicators for the first time. Ternary batteries with higher energy density began to rise and surpassed lithium iron phosphate batteries for the first time in 2018, and maintained its leading advantage in the following years. In 2020, the installed capacity of ternary batteries was 38.9GWh, accounting for 61.1%.

Lithium iron phosphate batteries made a "return of the king" in 2021: data showed that in May 2021, lithium iron phosphate batteries surpassed ternary batteries in output, with output for that month reaching 8.8GWh, accounting for 63.6% of total output; the cumulative output from January to May reached 29.9 GWh, accounting for 50.3%, exceeding ternary batteries by 0.7 percentage points.

In July 2021, lithium iron phosphate batteries further surpassed ternary batteries in monthly installed capacity, with the monthly installed capacity reaching 5.8GWh, accounting for 51.3% of the total installed capacity, 2.6 percentage points higher than ternary batteries.

In the following months, lithium iron phosphate batteries further caught up and in November surpassed ternary batteries for the first time in cumulative installed capacity this year, overturning the accumulated advantages of ternary batteries in the past three years.

The latest data for January 2022 shows that in terms of output, the output of ternary batteries was 10.8GWh, accounting for 36.5% of the total output; the output of lithium iron phosphate batteries was 18.8GWh, accounting for 63.3% of the total output. In terms of installed capacity, ternary batteries accounted for 7.3GWh, accounting for 45.1% of the total installed capacity; lithium iron phosphate batteries accounted for 8.9GWh, accounting for 54.9% of the total installed capacity.

Currently, there is a trend in the market that not only traditional phosphorus chemical giants are competing for the "big cake" of lithium iron phosphate, but the leading companies in ternary positive electrode materials are also intensively focusing on lithium iron phosphate!

For example, since 2021, many companies mainly engaged in ternary materials and upstream resources, including Dangsheng Technology , Huayou Cobalt, Xiamen Tungsten New Energy, and Changyuan Lithium Technology, have begun to deeply deploy lithium iron phosphate materials and upstream links!

Summarize

Some people believe that switching from ternary batteries to lithium iron phosphate batteries will be a trend in the next three years, and the share of ternary batteries will most likely decrease further.

Perhaps, with the expansion of the lithium iron phosphate battery market, it will not be news if a certain OEM uses lithium iron phosphate batteries in the future, but it will be news if a certain OEM insists on not using lithium iron phosphate batteries.