A big shift is underway within the electrical automobile section. No, I’m not speaking concerning the shift to EVs. That’s nonetheless progressing regardless of a few producers getting chilly toes. What I’m referring to here’s a refined change within the make-up of EV batteries that carries some vital implications.
A sort of lithium-ion battery known as lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, is changing into more and more prevalent in EVs world wide. Producers like Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, Tesla, and others at the moment are providing these packs as a substitute for, or an outright substitute for, the nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) chemistries which have dominated for years. Whereas LFP cells made up simply 6 % of the market in 2020, they’ve now jumped to roughly 30 %.
What do all these obscure components — and dizzying collection of acronyms — actually imply, and what’s the importance for the autos that may hit the highway over the following few years? Let’s dig into the main points.
First, a fast primer on how lithium-ion batteries work (for a deeper dive, try this in-depth explainer).
Batteries have three main parts: anode, cathode, and electrolyte. When there’s a draw created in {an electrical} circuit — for instance, once you press your EV’s “on” button — a chemical response happens inside the battery. Damaging ions journey between anode and cathode, throughout the electrolyte, to generate present. It’s the cathode that determines the battery’s habits, together with its temperature resilience, vitality density, and general lifespan.
After we discuss lithium-ion chemistries, we’re actually speaking concerning the supplies that make up the cathode, which in an LFP battery is actually lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4). Extra vital, although, is what’s lacking from an LFP cathode.
LFP batteries have a few key benefits, however for anybody who’s involved concerning the environmental and moral affect of EV possession, the first profit is that LFP batteries don’t comprise supplies like nickel, manganese, or cobalt.
These minerals are problematic in quite a few methods. Mining them takes a heavy environmental toll, damaging native ecologies in areas that lack laws, such because the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Myanmar. This has devastated native communities and led to the exploitation of their staff.
LFP batteries additionally value considerably much less. In line with BloombergNEF’s evaluation, LFP cells, on common, are 32 % cheaper than NMC cells. Sunoj George, director of battery engineering and propulsion structure at Rivian, mentioned that his firm has seen financial savings of 20 % to 30 % with LFP. In September, LFP batteries fell beneath $60 per kilowatt-hour, serving to drive world battery cell costs to a report low.
LFP batteries are additionally extra resilient, leading to a longer lifespan. Because of this autos with an LFP battery can deal with extra charge-discharge cycles earlier than the battery begins to lose capability, making EVs properly suited to fleets and different purposes requiring frequent recharges.
This resilience additionally helps these batteries deal with excessive temperatures. “LFP gives extra thermal stability than ternary [three-part] battery programs like NCM or NCA,” Rivian’s George mentioned. So battery fires are much less of a concern for LFP-powered automobiles.
If LFP batteries have all these benefits, why aren’t they in each single EV? Sadly, they’ve some vital downsides.
The largest is vitality density. An LFP battery will provide fewer kilowatt-hours of capability for a given weight and quantity. This implies fewer miles of outright vary on a cost. That’s offset considerably by the quicker charging talked about above, so for frequent, quick journeys, that is much less of a difficulty. However, since so many customers nonetheless have a look at most vary earlier than every other issue, it is a potential strike in opposition to LFP-powered automobiles.
One other concern is poor cold-weather efficiency. LFP-powered EVs lose extra of their most vary when the battery is chilly and may even battle to recharge in low temperatures.
However there are methods to handle this. Rivian’s George says that the corporate’s “thermal conditioning system” makes it in order that “the client mustn’t see any perceivable distinction” between LFP’s cold-weather efficiency and that of NCM or NCA batteries.
Lastly, whereas LFP batteries value much less to fabricate, they’re additionally value much less when recycling. “There’s much less inherent steel worth in an LFP pack versus a nickel-based pack,” mentioned Jackson Switzer, vice chairman of business at Redwood Supplies. Much less worth probably means much less motivation to recycle these batteries, however the excellent news is that they’re simply as simply recyclable.
So it’s a give-and-take, however producers are more and more deciding that the trade-offs are worthwhile, particularly of their fleet purposes.
Mercedes-Benz chosen LFP cells for its new eSprinter van. “Cell degradation is decrease than different batteries, guaranteeing sturdiness and low upkeep necessities at the exact same time as properly. It’s ultimate for mild business autos,” mentioned Klaus Rehkugler, head of gross sales and advertising and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Vans.
Lisa Drake, vice chairman of EV applications and vitality provide chain at Ford, mentioned that as EV charging stations change into extra widespread, LFP cells will make extra sense: “Persons are extra keen to just accept shorter journeys, smaller journeys, however they wish to [charge] extra typically. They usually wish to fast-charge extra typically. And LFP battery expertise permits them to do that.”
The identical is true for personal-use autos. Mercedes-Benz unveiled its Idea CLA Class final yr, a small, next-generation electrical sedan to debut subsequent yr. Markus Schäfer, chief expertise officer at Mercedes-Benz, mentioned that the corporate will provide completely different battery applied sciences. “We have to break up, in order that’s an entry model with an LFP battery with a smaller vary. When it comes to kilometers, it could possibly be 500 kilometers [311 miles] on this CLA Class automobile,” he mentioned. “However on the higher finish, you could possibly go for extra horsepower, for extra vary.” The performance-oriented model, then, would depend on non-LFP design.
Going ahead, LFP is projected to proceed to achieve momentum. An April report from BloombergNEF factors to a continuous enhance in LFP manufacturing in China by main suppliers like CATL, together with increasing output from producers elsewhere on the planet, like LG Power Resolution in South Korea.
Given LFP batteries’ sturdiness and value benefits, Ford’s Drake believes that lining up an LFP provide might be very important for producers: “Should you don’t have LFP in your fleet, I don’t understand how you’ll actually scale.”
