The development of the lithium battery cathode material industry market

The raw materials for lithium batteries mainly include cathode materials, anode materials, electrolytes, separators, and production equipment. Among them, the cathode material accounts for a relatively high proportion of the production cost of lithium batteries, generally 25% to 40%. And its performance directly affects the performance indicators of lithium batteries, so the cathode material occupies a core position in lithium batteries. At present, the main cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries mainly include lithium cobalt oxide, lithium nickel oxide, lithium manganate, and lithium iron phosphate. 1. Lithium cobalt oxide Lithium cobalt oxide is one of the most widely used cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries on the market. Because lithium cobalt oxide is easy to prepare, and has the advantages of high electrochemical performance, good cycle performance, stable performance, and excellent charge and discharge performance, it is the most successful cathode material used in commercial lithium battery packs at this stage. Due to the structural instability of lithium cobalt oxide at higher voltages, its operating voltage is low, which in turn causes lithium cobalt oxide to be mainly used in small batteries, such as mobile phones and computer batteries. 2. Lithium nickel oxide The structure of lithium nickel oxide is cubic rock salt, which is the same as lithium cobalt oxide, but its price is lower than that of lithium cobalt oxide. Lithium nickel oxide has the advantages of good high temperature stability, low self-discharge rate, no overcharge and overdischarge restrictions, and no pollution. In addition, it is also the actual discharge capacity of the current researched cathode materials. However, because it requires synthesis in an oxygen-rich atmosphere, and the process conditions control requirements are high, it is difficult to prepare, so it is not used much as a cathode material for lithium batteries. 3. Lithium manganese oxide my country has abundant manganese resources, manganese is non-toxic, has low pollution, and has good environmental compatibility. Therefore, layered LiMnO2 and spinel-type LiMn2O4 have become hotspots in the study of cathode materials. Lithium manganese oxide is also a positive electrode material with great development potential. The battery produced by using lithium cobalt oxide as the cathode material has good safety and resistance to overcharge and discharge. 4. Lithium iron phosphate lithium iron phosphate battery pack has the advantages of environmental protection, no pollution, good safety performance, long life, high energy density, safety, etc. It is an ideal cathode material for a new generation of lithium ion batteries. Lithium iron phosphate batteries are gradually being widely used in medium and large capacity UPS, energy storage batteries, power tools, and electric vehicles. Lithium iron phosphate battery is one of the core products for the future development of the battery industry. Compared with other power batteries, it has unparalleled advantages. At present, the future market for lithium iron phosphate batteries is huge. As an emerging industry with strategic investment value, it is worthy of attention and investment by industrial capital or venture capital. In summary, each cathode material has its own advantages and disadvantages, and has its own application fields and market needs. From the perspective of future development, the improvement of energy density will be the main development direction of lithium-ion battery cathode materials. Fierce market competition in the cathode material industry: In recent years, with the development of my country's lithium battery pack industry, the application field has continued to expand, and market demand has increased rapidly. At the same time, the value rate of lithium-ion battery cathode material products is relatively high, and the market is profitable, which has caused a large number of enterprises in my country to enter the lithium-ion battery cathode material industry. my country's lithium-ion cathode material production enterprises are relatively scattered, with a large number, and there are certain differences in production scale and production technology level. In 2014, the total production capacity of lithium-ion battery cathode materials in my country reached 203,000 tons. It can be seen that the competition in the lithium-ion battery cathode material industry is fierce. Overcapacity has caused major companies to increase their research and development efforts in new cathode materials, shorten their research and development cycles, and improve product performance, so that their cathode materials have a higher competitive advantage in the market. At the same time, major companies are also actively expanding overseas business, expanding market scale, and increasing their share of the global industry market. In general, the market competition in my country's lithium-ion battery cathode material industry is fierce, with overcapacity in the industry, and the market development environment needs to be further improved. Cathode material market competition pattern: 1) The capacity of new entrants will be gradually released before 2017, and these companies have begun to take shape in 2018, and the market competition has gradually become fierce. The companies that originally accounted for a relatively large market share will be preempted by some new entrants; 2) The capacity expansion of second-tier materials companies has been completed, especially those of ternary materials. Most of the power batteries have transformed to ternary. The market demand is huge, and the top ten companies have limited supply; 3) The price advantage of lithium manganate materials is huge, and battery companies are considering costs. , The use of ternary doping manganese will increase, so the output of lithium manganate material companies will have a greater increase. In summary, the domestic lithium iron phosphate battery pack has a broad market space, and at the same time is a rare opportunity for the rapid development of lithium-ion batteries. The market cake of the lithium iron phosphate industry is beyond imagination. As an emerging industry with strategic investment value, it is worthy of attention and investment by industrial capital or venture capital.