“EV Vision” Over the last few years, thanks to the development of technology as well as policy support, China has developed and developed the world’s largest market for electric cars and is now the world’s biggest electric vehicle manufacturer.
China’s total electric vehicle sales represent nearly 50 percent of all sales in the world. It is expected that a significant portion of vehicles that conform to requirements of National IV standard and below will gradually be phased out and replaced over the coming five to eight years. This will provide enough development for the electric vehicle market. Within the coming five years China’s electric vehicle production as well as growth rate are expected to be over 40%. By 2025, the percentage of new electric vehicles is anticipated to be greater than 20%..
The growing market has prompted the constant improvement of consumption and electric vehicles, particularly high-performance ones. are now a major market growth area. Motivated by demand from the market and the batteries for power has also resulted into a significant growth phase which has resulted in new materials and innovative technology constantly evolving, offering higher performance, lower cost as well as speedy charging solutions. These innovative battery solutions are growing to be a significant boost for the impact of brands that make electric vehicles and not just providing a greater satisfaction to customers, but also providing a wide range of needs for the market and promoting advancement of the high-quality electric automobile sector.
High-quality nickel batteries gain momentum
As we know, positive electrode materials make up over 40% of cost of a battery, and the increase in battery energy density is mostly dependent in the grade of positive electrode material. To assure safety in batteries positive electrodes are essential.
Based on different materials systems the most common positive electrodes can be classified into the categories of lithium nickel and manganese dioxide (NCM) as well as lithium iron phosphate (LFP) as well as lithium cobalt dioxide (LCO) as well as lithium nickel and cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) and others. The different performance characteristics of the various positive electrode materials is of paramount importance when it comes to research and development of battery technology for power. When deciding on the design and selection elements such as the specific energy as well as cyclability, safety, and price must be thoroughly considered.
Ternary lithium and lithium phosphate are the primary components of lithium battery cathode materials and each one has their particular appropriate position on the market. Lithium iron-phosphate offers obvious advantages in stability, safety in discharge and charge cycle life and price, however it also faces issues like lower energy density, poor discharge and charge efficiency and poor performance at low temperatures.
While lithium iron phosphate batteries are favored by a variety of automakers in recent years, and the share they hold continues to increase and to rise the efficiency of electric vehicles compared to conventional vehicle fuel, batteries energy density should be greater than 350Wh/kg, and the range of one charge should be more than 800 km. To bring off this the battery’s performance is still dependent on the advancement of high-nickel batteries.
Nickel cobalt manganese dioxide (NCM) Ternary material is modified by LiNiO2. Because of the apparent synergistic interaction of nickel Ni cobalt Manganese and Co the efficiency of NCM is superior to those of single-component layered material with positive electrode. The three elements each have their own influences in the properties that electrochemically affect the materials. If the nickel material in the ternary material is higher than 50percent, the material will become an ternary material with high nickel content like NCM622, NCM811 and NCA These are the kinds of batteries that are used in the majority of electric vehicles of today.
In the over 80 electric vehicles on display in the Shanghai Auto Show, 43 models from mid-to-high-end are or are scheduled to come with high-nickel batteries. On Europe and North America, European as well as North American markets, the use of high-nickel batteries is growing. Tesla, Volkswagen,BMW, Daimler,General,modernAutomakers such as Samsung and Samsung are increasing the proportion of high-nickel battery models.
Industry groups estimate that the penetration of high-nickel ternary material will be higher than 60%-70% by 2025. It is important to note that due to the rapid growth of the electric automobile industry, the depletion of battery core resources is becoming more more urgent. Cobalt is a resource that cannot be regenerated. Certain organizations forecast that by 2026, the cobalt resource will be scarce and the prices will be hard to manage. Batteries that are free of cobalt are a major research subject for a lot of manufacturers. Current trends are to replace nickel with cobalt. Theoretically the energy density could be similar to that of lithium ternary, however the cost is much less than lithium ternary.
From “Three Elements” to “Four Elements”
The quaternary battery is a new concept and is believed by industry to to solve the balance problems of battery power in terms of speed of charging, driving range as well as cost and safety and it is anticipated to fill in the flaws of high-nickel battery batteries with regard to price and security.
As the first company to produce ternary cathode material in mass production LG Energy’s top battery technology has been used in the most luxurious fully electric as well as hybrid automobiles. For instance the Porsche Taycan has achieved a capacity of 500 miles and a rapid charging time with 80% capacity of the battery within 30 minutes. The acceleration performance is also outstanding. VolvoAlso with its flagship model XC90.The hybrid model makes use of LG Energy Solutions’ battery technologies in order to increase the safety of the vehicle. Hyundai Motor’s Grandeur Hev hybrid model also makes use of LG Energy Solutions’ battery system to impart powerful power support to the engine with the use of high-power.
With a focus on market demand LG Energy Solution is also the first company in the market to obtain the mass production of quarterary lithium batteries (NCMA) that have increased nickel and a lower proportion of cobalt. The nickel content has been increased to 90 percent, which not only enhances energy density but also boosts the battery’s capacity. The proportion of cobalt has been decreased to 5percent, which will decrease the costs of battery. The high-nickel quaternary battery that has been enhanced with aluminum elements offers the benefit of a high energy density. In comparison to other ternary series material this battery will significantly reduce the maximum value of discharge heat flow and may boost the temperature of discharge at its peak. It also has great thermal stability, which prevents the production of unstable impurities in cobalt elements, increases battery life and also ensures the safety of. Additionally, the performance of the ternary battery which is superior to lithium iron phosphate even at lower temperatures is preserved, thereby removing the problem of battery power loss during the winter months of northern.
LG Energy Solution also took the lead in the use of silicon oxide as negative electrodes to power batteries. In the year 2019, it was the first company in the entire world to actually achieve the mass production of batteries together negative electrodes made of silicon oxide. The superior silicon oxide material provides better power density of batteries, speedy charging and the ability to travel.
With its high-nickel “three plus one” quaternary cathode technology and advanced silicon-oxygen anode technology. LG Energy Solution’s latest generation of quaternary batteries is able to fulfil the distance of 650 miles on one charge, according to China’s recently adopted WLTP standard, which is closer to working conditions. In addition the main benefit of this technology is the ability to accomplish rapid charging that is built on a powerful energy density of greater than 300wh/kg, thanks to advanced thermal management technologies, and is capable of traveling 280 km in just 5 minutes of charging. This is eliminating the common worry about energy replenishment and mileage of customers.
Quaternary lithium battery technology addresses the issues of the market’s demands for superior performance and safety, further speeding up the advancement of high-end batteries in the market. With the advantages of decreasing the cobalt material and definitely increasing the battery’s performance, the battery with quaternary lithium is likely to be one of the many technologies of the future and will offer more options to automobile manufacturers. It is believed LG New Energy’s quternary lithium batteries are likely to be applied to premium models of brands like GM and Ford, which are pioneering electric automobiles into the new quaternary era.
According to a study by China Securities, the current price of ternary batteries currently available is around 800-850 yuan/KWh. Based on the assumption that a bicycle can have 60 KW of power, with a quaternary battery will save you 6,000 to 9,000 Yuan.
Roland Berger Consulting also predicts that the high-nickel battery option is expected to become an increasingly popular feature in the future. Because of its unique technical advantages that the four-element battery does is not just a cost advantage over the three-element battery but it also is expected to take over the LiFPP battery in many automobile models.
Conclusion
It is possible that a technological revolution has been quietly taking place. High-nickel quaternary batteries possess the potential to improve the potential of electric vehicles compared to gasoline vehicles. They is bound to have a major influence on the acceptance for electric cars.