Why ternary lithium-ion batteries can increase the range of new energy electric vehicles
For a long time, the lack of high-performance cathode materials has been a pain point in the development of my country's new energy vehicles and their power lithium-ion battery industry. As the technical founder of a domestic listed company focusing on the research and development of lithium battery cathode materials, Chen Yanbin led the Ru0026D team in 2014 to develop and mass-produce automotive power lithium battery cathode materials, which have high specific capacity, long cycle life, and low pressure. Four major performance advantages such as high density and excellent low-temperature performance. The corresponding energy density of power lithium batteries reaches 230Wh/kg, the cycle life reaches 4000 times, and the low-temperature charge and discharge performance advantages are also very prominent. It has become a high-end electric vehicle at home and abroad. The preferred cathode material for power lithium-ion batteries. In the 2017 Beijing Science and Technology Awards, the project won the second prize.
It is understood that the cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries that have been commercially used include lithium cobaltate, lithium manganate, lithium iron phosphate and NCM (nickel cobalt manganese) ternary materials And other products. In the early stage of the development of domestic electric vehicles, power lithium batteries were dominated by batteries using lithium iron phosphate cathode materials. Although the battery made of this cathode material has a better cycle life, its energy density is relatively low, which leads to a relatively long range of electric vehicles. short.
Energy density, cycle life, high temperature storage stability, low temperature characteristics, safety, and cost are several key indicators of power lithium-ion batteries. Chen Yanbin said.
As the demand for long cruising range of passenger cars becomes more and more urgent, it is necessary to develop higher energy density lithium-ion battery cathode materials.
High nickel ternary materials can significantly increase the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, and the battery can store more power per unit volume or unit weight, so it has gradually become a passenger The mainstream of the car power lithium battery market. Chen Yanbin said that from a technical point of view, important performance indicators such as energy density, output characteristics, cycle life, storage stability, and safety of ternary materials are relatively balanced, so they are the mainstream direction of future power lithium battery cathode materials.
Compared with the conventional ternary materials NCM111 and NCM523, NCM622 has a higher specific capacity, and the energy density of batteries made with it can reach more than 230Wh/kg.
Although NCM811 and NCA with higher nickel content have high energy density, they are difficult to prepare, high production costs, and high safety risks. At present, they are important for small-size cylindrical batteries ( 5Ah or less), applied to large square batteries and aluminum-plastic film flexible packaging batteries (above 50Ah) still face many technical challenges. Chen Yanbin said that NCM622 is therefore the preferred cathode material for high-end large-scale power lithium batteries at present and even in the next few years.
Relevant information shows that Volkswagen and BMW use high-nickel NCM622 in the selection of their supporting power lithium batteries. In the future, they will adopt ternary materials with higher nickel content. Among the power lithium battery companies, international companies including Panasonic, LG, SK, and Samsung are all marching towards high-nickel ternary material power lithium-ion batteries.
In the domestic market, whether it is mainstream electric vehicle companies such as BAIC New Energy, BYD, Geely, and Zotye, or mainstream electric vehicle companies such as CATL, Funeng, Carne, and Gateway Power All of the power lithium battery companies are increasing the development and application of high nickel ternary batteries.
From the perspective of future market trends, the energy density of battery cells should reach 280Wh/kg, or even 300Wh/kg, so the application of high nickel ternary materials will become A long-term mainstream trend.