New energy vehicles are different from traditional fuel vehicles. In the past, they were mainly based on engines, gearboxes and chassis. Now, they are based on "three powers". Among them, power batteries are the most important components of new energy vehicles.
Lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4) battery
When ternary lithium batteries have not become mainstream, in fact, lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4) batteries have always been "standard" on new energy vehicles.
However, due to the limited technical conditions at that time, the embarrassing cruising range and other unstable factors, the energy density of lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4) batteries is far from that of ternary lithium batteries.
Ternary lithium battery
Compared with lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4) batteries, ternary lithium batteries have the greatest advantage in energy density. This is also the reason why ternary lithium batteries can become the mainstream later. Now we can see electric vehicles with a cruising range of 1000+ kilometers, which basically use ternary lithium power batteries.
And the ability to resist low temperature is better than that of lithium iron phosphate batteries, so ternary lithium batteries are more used in long-life electric vehicles, the disadvantage is that the cost is high.
However, the lithium iron phosphate battery, which was once "abandoned", is now on its way back!
02. Price becomes the biggest advantage?
The two power batteries are mainly different in material. The normal price of lithium iron phosphate cathode material is about 45,000 yuan per ton, while the price of ternary lithium battery material is as high as 170,000 yuan per ton. This price difference also causes the price difference between the long battery life version and the standard battery life version to be so large.
With the increasing price advantage of lithium iron phosphate, in fact, many car companies will "pick up" lithium iron phosphate again in 2021. It is said that the price of Tesla has been greatly reduced after the domestic production, and many car owners who have purchased it have reported whether it is "cutting leeks".
Not only Tesla, but also BYD was the company that "did not abandon" lithium iron phosphate at the beginning. Our well-known CATL is also transformed by the tuyere of ternary lithium batteries. At that time, BYD Wang Chuanfu insisted that lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4) batteries are the way out, and the blade batteries we can see now are improved based on lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4) batteries.
The data shows that the loading situation of lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4) batteries in November 2021: CATL loading 96,000 units; BYD loading 82,600 units; Guoxuan Hi-Tech loading 32,700 units. With a total of 211,300 units, it can be seen that the application of lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4) batteries is gradually "warming up".
03. The future development trend may not give up on both
With the gradual decline of the new energy vehicle subsidy policy, the era of high energy density in exchange for high subsidies has come to an end. Affected by the environment, the material price of lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4) batteries has also risen sharply this year, but there is at least a 15% to 20% advantage for ternary lithium materials.
In fact, in terms of safety, the advantage of lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4) battery has always been greater than that of ternary lithium; and the advantage of ternary lithium is that it is more suitable for building long-lasting vehicles.
In the current environment of vigorously developing the infrastructure for charging and energy supplementation, will these two types of power batteries coexist well in the future? Just like when we buy a car, we basically don't pay attention to the size of the fuel tank, because there are gas stations everywhere, and it is very convenient to refuel.
Imagine maybe 5 years from now? Maybe in 10 years? When there are as many charging piles and power exchange facilities as there are gas stations now, the advantages of lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4) batteries seem to be more obvious.
Although long-range electric vehicles are indeed as high as 1,000 kilometers, the cost of building a vehicle is indeed high, and such a large-capacity battery has a high density, and the charging time is far from being faster than that of a battery with a small capacity density.
According to the relevant information in January 2022, many suppliers and manufacturers have developed lithium iron phosphate batteries.
For example, the new factory in the Ningde era has begun to supply lithium iron phosphate batteries for Tesla, and GAC Aian has also made improvements to lithium iron phosphate and released the results of acupuncture for lithium iron phosphate magazine batteries. At the same time, LG's new energy plan also plans to start researching lithium iron phosphate batteries.
Whether it is lithium iron phosphate or ternary lithium, the application of new energy electric vehicles has its own advantages. To deal with new energy vehicles in different usage scenarios, no matter which one is discarded.
